If Stephen Curry’s teammates don’t vote him off the Olympic squad before it leaves for Paris, the world is in for a treat.
Curry is ready to hoop. By all indications, his level of enthusiasm for playing for his country in the Olympics is off the charts, even by his own crazy-high standards.
Adding to his motivation, this Olympics could be part of Curry’s grand exit strategy, which could have him riding off into the sunset after two more seasons with the Golden State Warriors. We’ll kick that around in a moment, but first, the Olympics.
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Based on video clips and reports from the team’s training HQ in Las Vegas, Curry is amped up like a nerd on the first day of Science Camp. He seems determined not just to enjoy the Olympics experience, slap some backs and sell some shoes, but to take his game and his rep and his country to a higher level.
Curry knows this team needs a leader and he is up for the assignment. On this roster of superstars, he jumps out as the obvious choice to lead. LeBron James? He’s got universal respect, but James doesn’t have Curry’s pure charisma and leadership touch.
Most of the other American players are getting their first up-close interaction with Curry, and they seem impressed. However, Curry might have gone too far. A video was posted on social media showing the U.S. men’s team players, one by one, leaving their practice gym in Las Vegas and walking to the team bus.
A knot of fans waits outside in the 114-degree Vegas heat, calling out for autographs. A few of the U.S. players wave, but none stops to sign or to interact with the fans. Except one.
Yes, Curry’s teammates are learning a lot about him, the type of stuff you learn only through long, close exposure. They’ll either follow him, or vote him off the team for making them look bad by signing autographs in the scorching sun. Probably the former. Curry wears down people’s defenses with that relentless joy.
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Curry is here for the experience, and maybe to provide us with a window to his ultimate basketball exit plan.
What if … an Olympic gold medal is the last item on Curry’s basketball bucket list? Everything after that might be, to him, a cherry on the gravy on the frosting.
Curry has two more seasons on his Warriors contract, and there’s no reason to think he won’t play them out, but maybe that will be it.
It’s possible that Curry doesn’t share the widespread panic over the quickly closing Steph Curry Window, the Warriors’ need to sacrifice everything to ensure that their transcendent guard has a shot at another title or two.
Curry, a non-entitled type of guy, knows how hard it will be to get another ring, in San Francisco or elsewhere. It could be that he’s willing to play out his contract here, surrounded by the best cast that Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy can assemble around him, swinging for the fences but realizing that singles and strikeouts are also part of life.