“A Bay Area God.” No, we are not talking about Stephen Curry. That’s the tag Kevin Durant bestowed on the other Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, in July when the latter announced his departure from the Golden State Warriors to the Dallas Mavericks. Well, KD has had the honor of sharing the court with both snipers. But the memory that might be fresher on his mind is Chef Curry’s recent heroics in the final game of the Paris Olympics against France.

Curry, in his maiden Olympics, destroyed the rivalry on that fateful evening of August 10, by shooting four of his eight three-pointers in the final minutes. Curry had 24 points overall, with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker finishing with 15 points each, and LeBron James with 14. Riding on Curry’s antics, as the USA secured the Olympic gold defeating France 98-87, Durant also had a moment of his own.

With that win, Durant became the first-ever men’s basketball player to win four Olympic titles. “That was a Godlike performance. God was with him tonight. It was one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen him play,” Durant had said, Praising Curry. Despite all that, KD chose to stay away from the recency bias trap and, surprisingly, picked Klay over Steph for a unique honor.

While Durant was enjoying a session of NBA 2K, he was posed with an interesting question: “If you had to put together your perfect roster starting lineup, who would you pick?” Without missing a beat, The Slim Reaper replied, “I’ll probably go with Luka at the point. Luka, me, Bron, Embiid at my five, coz Embiid can shoot three better than Jokic on the game.” After naming the first four players with ease, KD momentarily got stuck on his fifth starter.

“Who are my snipes? Who gon be my four, man?” Then, he made a shocking pick. “Damn, then you gotta go with somebody like Klay,” he declared. Yes, giving it some thought, KD surprisingly chose Klay as the sharpshooter on his dream starting five. The reason?

“6’7, he’s shooting that thing like that,” Durant remarked on the Boardroom Talks. Although Steph holds the crown for the best shooter in the world and even proved it in Paris, his 6’2 frame could be a disadvantage in Durant’s lineup. Moreover, he already picked Luka as his team’s playmaker, which leaves no room for Steph at the point guard spot. Meanwhile, Klay is more used to playing shooting guard, and apart from being an elite shooter, he is also a solid defender because of his length.

when it comes to pure shooting, many believe that Klay has arguably the purest jump shot in the league. Even better than his Splash Brother. Especially during his prime, Klay had some historic performances, like when he scored 37 points in a quarter or when he had a 60-piece in just eleven dribbles. And while it does sound strange, KD picking Klay over Steph as his sniper might not be a bad choice after all. But like KD, even we can not get over Curry’s fireworks at the Olympics. Let’s take a look.

Steph Curry’s single-handed dominance that Kevin Durant hailed

The Paris Olympics, initially, was not going well for Curry. He only had five 3-pointers in his first four games of the Paris Olympics 2024 combined. But as we say, saving the best till the last. For Curry, that moment correctly came in the medal round. 36-year-old all-time 3-point king in NBA history made seventeen 3-pointers in the last two games against Serbia and France.

But our picks are the last four of those 3-pointers that came in the final 2:46 of the gold-medal game.

The first one

LeBron James brought the ball across mid-court, and Curry waved Anthony Davis away to create space for the pick-and-roll that was coming. Curry set it. He then moved to the top of the key and took the pass from James. Curry then got rid of French defender Guerschon Yabusele and made the 3-pointer.

• Scoreline: USA 85, France 79, 2:41 left.

The second one

In the timeout, 2:22 was left. Curry strategized to run the pick-and-roll alongside LeBron James and everyone else to spread the floor. It was a simple one, but very effective for someone considered the best shooter in the history of basketball. So, they ran it, this time with James setting. Curry kept the ball, got defender Nicolas Batum in the air, waited for him to land, and then shot from the left side of the top of the key.

• Scoreline: USA 90, France 81, 1:52 left.

The third one

At that point, Nicolas Batum had just made a 3-pointer to bring the lead down to six. Curry brought the ball down the floor and handed it over to Kevin Durant, who immediately gave it back. Curry sent the ball again and then it was with Devin Booker. While Booker was driving the baseline, he saw Curry open at the top of the key again. He wound up using the same move as the possession before, thus came the third one.

• Scoreline: USA 93, France 84, 1:18 left

The fourth one

Victor Wembanyama connected on a 3-pointer to get France within 93-87 with 54.4 seconds to go. Curry sent the ball to Durant, just like the previous possession. And Durant gave it right back again. That was hint enough for Curry. He was keeping the ball this time. He forced a shot over Batum and Evan Fournier, which looked like a mistake. But that was going in.

• The U.S. was up 96-87 with 35 seconds left.

Keeping all these in mind, do you think KD was right in siding with Klay over Curry? Share your thoughts in the comments section.