Anthony Edwards, Team USA beat Rudy Gobert, France for Olympic gold

It's the Americans' fifth straight gold medal in Olympic basketball.

United States guard Anthony Edwards (5) shoots against France in the first half of the men's basketball gold-medal game during the Paris Olympics at Accor Arena in Paris on Aug. 10, 2024. / Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Edwards is an Olympic gold medalist. Rudy Gobert has to settle for silver. 

Edwards and Team USA beat Gobert and France 98-87 in the Olympic men’s basketball final Saturday afternoon in Paris, making it five straight Olympic golds for the Americans. 

Team USA’s star-studded lineup completed a perfect Olympic run, and the Americans were never really in any danger in the gold-medal game. While the French hung around, Team USA led the game from start to finish, avoiding a scare like they faced in the semis against Serbia. 

Edwards came off the bench for the Americans and scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting. Four of the five U.S. starters finished in double figures with Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and LeBron James scoring 24, 15, 15 and 14 points, respectively. 

Twelve of Curry’s points came on fourth-quarter 3s that helped the U.S. seal the gold. 

Gobert came off the bench again for the French, and while he saw more action than he did in the quarterfinals and semifinals, he had just two points on 1-for-2 shooting. San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama led the France with 26 points and seven rebounds. 

There was a notable moment between Edwards and Gobert during the first quarter when Edwards hit a 3-pointer over Gobert that put the Americans up 20-15. Edwards proceeded to give him some trash talk — a fun moment of banter between the Timberwolves teammates.

ANTHONY EDWARDS COOKED RUDY GOBERT AND LET HIM KNOW 💀pic.twitter.com/1BFGHvB3dv

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) August 10, 2024

Wembanyama grabbed an offensive rebound and got a putback dunk with under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter that made it an 82-79 game, but Curry immediately answered with a 3 to put the Americans back up six. Curry hit another pair of 3s to answer a couple French baskets, the second with 1 minute, 14 seconds remaining to put the U.S. up 93-84.

Curry made another unreal 3 with 35 seconds remaining to make it 96-87, officially sealing it. 

STEPH CURRY. NIGHT NIGHT. GOLD MEDAL. pic.twitter.com/uDsLC96ql9

— Coach Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) August 10, 2024

Edwards can add an Olympic gold medal to his already impressive list of accomplishments as a young, rising star. Perhaps an NBA Finals title is coming next for the 23-year-old.