In what may be his first and last Olympics, Stephen Curry only added to his legend as the greatest shooter of all time. The Americans needed every one of his three-pointers, first in Team USA’s semifinal comeback against Serbia and in the throes of the gold medal game to secure their victory. Even more incredible, he had made just five three-pointers before the game against Serbia, where the Warriors legend scored 36 on nine made threes. With 36 points, he was one bucket away from breaking Carmelo Anthony’s Olympic record for points scored in a game. Current NBA players couldn’t help but marvel at Curry’s performance, even though they must have hated watching his heroics against their team. Just ask Devin Booker, for example.

“He’s the best shooter that ever lived,” Booker said.

Stephen Curry’s Pursuit of Gold with Team USA

A roster full of All-Stars who are all first or second options on their NBA teams can be a recipe for disaster, but high-stakes games often shape the team’s hierarchy for them. For example, when the game gets tough and in the clutch, who gets the ball? For the two medal-round games, the answer was Stephen Curry. After scoring 36 points to beat Serbia, Curry contributed with eight made three-pointers for 24 total points. Four of those threes were consecutive shots to secure the gold for the Americans. The last three even looked like a heat check, a one-footed heave over a double-team of Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier that would make any coach smack his clipboard in anger if it were any other player.

“I was like, ‘What the f**k,'” Bam Adebayo said of the shot that won the gold medal. “Then I remembered who fired the shot.”

If you want to know how to overcome a shooting slump, just ask Curry. He averaged just seven points in the group stage and made just five of 20 three-point attempts.

“You just stay confident, stay present and don’t get rattled by the moment,” the Warriors star said. “There’s a lot of confidence, living with the shots you feel like you need to take.”

Meanwhile, Devin Booker also scored 15 points to win his second gold medal, impressively changing his role and fitting in better with the team.

Olympic MVP

While the Warriors icon’s legendary shooting earned the Americans the gold, his teammate and legendary rival LeBron James won the Olympic MVP. James had a triple-double against Serbia and was four rebounds away from clinching the gold medal again against France. In the gold medal game, James had 14 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. Over the course of the games, he averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists on 66% shooting.

After nearly a decade of intense rivalry, it only makes sense that James and Curry would lead Team USA to a gold medal in what could be the final Olympic Games of their careers.