Steph, KD and US men’s team enjoy Olympic memories off the field: ‘I have to be a fan’

PARIS – Stephen Curry just wanted to feel like one of the Olympians.

During the July 26 opening ceremony, he floated down the Seine River on Team USA’s boat, surrounded by hundreds of top athletes. But the Golden State Warriors star’s celebrity status continued to get in the way of this unique experience.

“I didn’t feel like just one of the athletes at first because people would come up to me and say, ‘Can I take a picture with you?’” said Curry, who is competing in his first competition at age 36. Olympics. “It was such an atmosphere. I actually had to stop and tell them, ‘No, I want to know who you are, what you do and level the playing field because you’re here for a reason too.’

Hours later, Curry had taken more than 200 photos with other athletes on his phone while learning all about the timeless tradition of Olympic pin trading. This would become Curry’s favorite moment off the court.

“I must be a fan,” he said. “It was special.”

For the players on this U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team – who are among the most famous athletes in the world, and whose collective star power is the main reason they stay away from the athletes’ villages during the Games – they have cherished these opportunities to connect. with and admire their contemporaries in recent weeks.

And now that the Games are almost over, with Team USA playing Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday and the potential gold medal match two days later, the memories have already begun.

When Kevin Durant was asked to choose his favorite memory from these Games, the answer came without hesitation.

“See Simone,” he said with a smile.

Like LeBron or KD or Steph, legendary American gymnast Simone Biles is one of the few athletes here whose Q-rating is so astronomical that no last name is necessary. So on August 1, one night after the men’s basketball team defeated South Sudan in the pool and two nights before the Americans would beat Puerto Rico, a group that included Durant, Curry, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Tyrese Haliburton went to watch Biles . in action.

She won her sixth gold medal that evening, winning the all-around event, while compatriot Suni Lee took bronze.

“I’ve never been this close to a gymnastics event,” said Durant, the Phoenix Suns star and three-time gold medalist who hopes to become the program’s first-ever fourth-place finisher. “Of course I watched (gymnastics) on TV, but when you’re there it’s different. And just to see her greatness, along with the other girls who put so much time into their craft, it’s just amazing to see how great they have become.”

But Durant’s observations went far beyond the exciting result.

Until that evening, he didn’t know that gymnastics was such a youthful sport. He heard all about how 27-year-old Biles is considered “old” in her sporting world, and how there are so many gymnasts – like 16-year-old American Hezly Rivera – who become elite before they can vote.

He heard the widespread criticism Biles faced in 2021, when she withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics despite being a gold medal favorite in most of her events, citing a condition known as “the twisties.” Biles, who would later talk about the mental health challenges she was facing at the time, became disoriented in the air and as a result chose to close it. For Durant, that decision — and the roaring comeback that has occurred since — is as much a part of her legend as everything that came before it.

But what Durant admires most about Biles, it seems, is how fearless she is to tell the world how she feels, no matter what criticism she receives. In front of the cameras. On social media. Wherever it may be.

No stranger to self-examination, Durant is infamous for interacting with fans and media members on public platforms. Biles, in that way and more, is now one of his inspirations.

“When people see so much potential in you at a young age, you get so ridiculed, and she experienced it at the highest level,” Durant said. “That she continues to come out every day and show the brilliance, and also let people know that it sounds crazy when they talk to her? It’s inspiring to be able to do both.”

Durant paused.

“So yeah, she inspired me to keep tweeting and keep doing whatever I do on the field,” he said with a laugh.

Of all the American hoopers who create memories, Booker is the most qualified to actually document them. Way back in 2016, while looking for creative methods to capture his first-ever All-Star experience in Toronto, Booker decided to go the vintage route and use a camcorder instead of a cell phone.

“I have some really good friends of mine who introduced me to cameras my rookie year, and they said, ‘Keep a handy camera with you (because) it feels more authentic than an iPhone,’” says Booker, the 27- year-old who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Games and is participating in his second Olympic Games. “It makes you pay more attention to it, listen to it a little more an iPhone camera is too good a camera.”

Fast forward to these Paris Games: two of Booker’s friends who assist in the production of his online content joined him, and he has shared well-edited, high-quality video that routinely goes viral on the Internet. his Instagram feed.

“We watch the entire video again and then cut it up,” Booker said. “The handicap is simple. We just take the coolest moments and put them all together.”

Like Durant, Booker mentioned the chance to see Biles up close at the top of his personal list. But there were many more.

On Sunday afternoon, Booker went to see his ‘good friend’, the American fencer Miles Chamley-Watsonin a bronze team event against France, then made the trek to Stade de France to witness Noah Lyles’ stunning final victory in the 100 meters, which required a photo finish.

If he had to pick a favorite experience besides Biles — that was Durant’s choice, after all — Booker said it was the trip to La Concorde on July 29, when his passion for skateboarding was fulfilled like never before.

“Seeing (American skateboarders) Nyjah (Huston), seeing Jagger (Eaton), Yuto (Horigome) from Japan – who all finished in the top three – those are guys I admire,” Booker said. “I tried standing on a skateboard, but I grew out of it very quickly. But I’m aware of skate culture, and how they go about their business, and I love it.

“For me the experience is unparalleled. It’s exploring all the other events and seeing all the other talented people in the world at the same time. It’s something I will pass on to generations of mine. I send the footage from my handycam to my children’s children, and hopefully they feel it.”

As Curry reflects on all the different interactions that brought him joy, he begins to list the memories he encountered during some of those moments. Of course, none of them would compare to the gold they all strive for, but they are still special.

He had a ping-pong ball signed by the U.S. women’s table tennis team when they got started came to watch the men’s basketball team practice. And yes, for those wondering, that’s the same group of women who told Minnesota Timberwolves star and self-proclaimed table tennis extraordinaire Anthony Edwards that he wouldn’t be able to score a single point against any of them during their boat tour opening ceremony. .

Anthony Edwards thinks he can compete with the US table tennis team 😂 pic.twitter.com/30GdJOmR3G

— Sideline Sources (@sidelinesources) July 27, 2024

And then there are the pins. So many cute pins.

“My (USA) skateboard one is my favorite,” Curry said. “I got one from Team Jamaica, which was cool because I have a lot of family on my wife’s side that are from Jamaica. Also pistol shooting.”

He also has a plan for the photos.

“I’m so sentimental,” he said. “So once I get the prints, I might archive this and put it in a way where six months from now, or six years from now, you can pull out a bottle of wine and just go through them and reminisce a little bit. I just want to have all those memories, to be able to relive it.”

Required reading

(Top photo of Steph Curry cheering on Simone Biles: Jean Catuffe / Getty Images)