ESPN Tries to Put Stephen Curry’s Olympic Moment in Historical Perspective

Stephen Douglas | Aug 12, 2024

Mike Greenberg on ‘Get Up’ discussing Stephen Curry. /

Team USA won the gold medal in men's basketball at the Paris Olympics on Saturday. The Americans needed an incredible performance from Stephen Curry to hold off the host country. Curry finished with 24 points on eight three-pointers, including four in the last three minutes of the game.

His final three was an iconic heave over two defenders that finally put the game away with 35 seconds remaining in the game. It was awesome to see. What it wasn't was the most memorable shot in basketball history, which is the exact argument Mike Greenberg attempted to make on Get Up on Monday morning.

Mike Greenberg proclaims Steph Curry's shot to seal Team USA's gold medal-winning victory over France the most memorable shot in basketball history.

"Team USA winning the gold medal is what is expected, so it will not be remembered the same way some of those others were. But… pic.twitter.com/bUmsD9kjsx

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 12, 2024

"It's not just this fourth one which is a miracle," said Greenberg. "He's literally the only person on planet Earth for whom that's a good look. But it is also the stakes. Team USA winning the gold medal is what is expected. So it will not be remembered the way some of those others were. But think about the other side. Think about if we don't win that game. Think about the reaction if Team USA loses that day. And we were in significant jeopardy of doing just that. And so for that reason and because of the spectacular nature of that flurry capped off by that fourth one, which again is an absolutely terrible shot for every other person in the world. I put that one at number one. I put that as the number one most memorable moment. It is one you will never forget having watched."

That's the perfect argument for the shiniest object debate. A discussion of the "most memorable shots in basketball history" where number one isn't a shot, but a moment comprised of multiple shots. And it's also quite literally the thing freshest in everyone's mind. If you look up recency bias in the dictionary, well, there will probably be a new definition because another greatest thing ever will have taken place by now.

It was a great moment. It was a great shot. Everyone outside France loved it. But if you want perspective, you had to keep it on ESPN as First Take's Joe Fortenbaugh discussed Curry's moment.

"Without this moment, how does it affect the outcome? ... This shot: Iconic. U.S. still probably wins this game."

—@JoeFortenbaugh on where Steph Curry's last shot ranks in all-time sports moments 👀 pic.twitter.com/mEJpBD4j2J

— First Take (@FirstTake) August 12, 2024

"When you parse however through the all-time shots," said Fortenbaugh, "as we always get into the nitty-gritty of this and we start to rank these things. You gotta ask yourself without this moment, how does it affect the outcome?"

Fortenbaugh used the Malcolm Butler interception and Jason Lezak's anchor leg of the 4x100 meter relay at the 2008 Olympics as examples of more important sports moments. And why shouldn't we be thinking about the Seahawks not giving it to Marshawn Lynch after Stephen Curry's incredible performance?

Dudes can literally just sit around and name old sports players and just have the best time.

— E.M. Hudson (@EMHudsonlives) July 15, 2021

It's weird that we still dress up these discussions as serious debates. We all know its just an excuse to remember some guys. In this case Fortenbaugh has the advantage over Greenberg. We all know deep down what Curry did wasn't the greatest thing we've ever seen and you don't need to pretend it is.