Mesmerizing the fans for the last fifteen years, Stephen Curry has solidified himself as one of the greatest basketball players ever. And he has the resume to show for it as well. Four championships, two MVP trophies, a Finals MVP, multiple All-NBA and All-Star selections, you name it, Steph owns it. However, one major accolade still eludes him, even to this day, a medal at the Olympics. That’s because, as surprising as it may sound, Steph has never played in the prestigious event, each time due to a different reason.

But as the Baby-Faced Assassin finally gets a chance to make his Olympics debut in Paris later this month, let’s dive deeper into why he has stayed away from that major milestone until now.

Three Olympics, Three Reasons for Steph to miss them

Entering the league back in 2009, the first Olympics Steph could have debuted in was the London one three years later. But he failed to make the cut as established superstars like LeBron, Kobe, and Durant highlighted that year’s Team USA lineup. To be honest, at the time, Steph was nowhere close to the superstar he is today, so it made sense why he was left out of the squad. Meanwhile, the 2016 Olympics were a completely different story. Having won a title and already deemed the best shooter the world had ever seen, that year was arguably Steph’s best shot to make the roster.

Unfortunately, his health stood in the way of his dream. Coming off two back-to-back trips to the finals, Curry’s body had gone through a lot of fatigue by the time the Rio Olympics arrived. Just that season alone, he had suffered an elbow injury during the West Finals against OKC and a scary Grade one MCL sprain in his knee while facing the Rockets. All banged up and dealing with multiple injuries, Steph had no option but to opt out of the Olympics that year.

And about the Tokyo Olympics, well, we all are aware of the chaos that transpired that year. With the entire world dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the Olympics being postponed by a year, Steph felt it would be better to opt out and stay at home instead of taking a trip overseas. Call it misfortune or his fate, but something or the other has always stopped Steph from representing his nation on that stage. Until now!

Stephen Curry finally earns his Olympics opportunity

Well, after years of heartbreak, the stars have finally aligned for Steph as he is set to debut in the Paris Olympics at the age of thirty-six. And he couldn’t contain his excitement when his name was announced in the roster as he revealed during an interview on TNT’s Inside The NBA earlier this season, “Beyond excited! I have played in two World Championship teams, so I’ve had International experience. But in 2016, 2021, I missed it. And so, I am excited about this opportunity.” While it was not in the Olympics, Steph does have experience of winning gold for his nation as he was part of the Team USA squad that bagged gold in the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Cup.

And he would love to relive that feeling once again, this time on a stage he has never been to before. More importantly, this year is the perfect time for him to take that leap because it could very well be his last opportunity to do so. “We obviously want to go get the gold and for me to this be my first experience, I am super excited. I don’t know, I am 36 now, and I don’t know if I’d have another one. This is definitely the year.” He said on Inside The NBA, hinting at a possible retirement before the next Olympics arrive.

With that possibility, Steph is ready to give everything he has in his effort to win a gold in Paris, even making his intentions clear by being the first player to arrive for Team USA’s basketball training camp being held in Las Vegas. Moreover, the four-time champ got straight to work as a video of him working out with the FIBA ball used in the Olympics went viral on the internet. Because the ball was a little different and the dimensions of the court not match that of what Steph is used to, he quickly wanted to get adjusted to the new conditions, “It is an adjustment, but like anything, the more reps you get the more comfortable you get. Thankfully we have another two and a half weeks before the first Olympic game to kind of shake out all those cobwebs and get used to the spacing on the floor, the feel of the ball, and all that.” Now the only thing left for Steph to do is live his long-awaited dream and add to his legacy by winning another gold for his nation.