Stephen Curry may have had a rough start, but his end to the Paris Olympics was simply stellar. Stellar enough to make Carmelo Anthony violate a rule in celebration of the 4x NBA champ. The two players have shared a close bond for years now. And it seems watching Steph win his first Olympic gold was just overwhelming for Melo.

New York Basketball’s official X account posted two photos featuring Melo, Kiyan Anthony, and the GSW star. The first photo goes back to a 2011 game in which Melo is sitting courtside along with young Stephen Curry and even a younger Kiyan. The second photo featured all three of them but in the more recent set-up of the Paris Olympics’ Finals game.

While the 17-year-old Kiyan cheered for Curry from the sidelines, Melo could not control his excitement and stepped inside the barricade, onto the court in celebration of his national team and, as it seems, of Steph as well. Rightly so, as the Warriors star clinched his gold and as a clutch in his first-ever appearance at the Olympics.

Although the 4x NBA champ had a shaky start to the event, he closed on a note he would’ve desired. Notably, Stephen Curry made just 5 of his first 20 three-point attempts. But his comeback in the last two games came when needed the most. While the GSW star scored 36 points at 9-on-14 shooting from the three point shoot line in the semi-finals, he stacked 24 points for the team in the Finals – all shot from beyond the arc.

The happiest person for the 4x NBA champ? Clearly, Carmelo Anthony, as evident from another viral photo, where the ex-NBA star is hugging Curry. 

A closer look at Stephen Curry’s history with Melo

As mentioned earlier, the two stars have known each other for years now. And the first instance of this goes back to the time Melo was in the middle of making his first All Star appearance, while Curry was still in his first year in college. Chris Paul became the first person to facilitate the first 1-on-1 interaction between the two.

Notably, CP3 had brought the then Davidson Wildcats star to his practice session with Melo. During one episode of his podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn, Melo recalled realizing a future star in Curry in that session itself. “I’m watching Steph, and he’s just studying all the s***. The different type of unorthodox workouts that we was doing with a tennis ball, close your eyes and watch the fingers over here, count to five… he wanted to be a part of that,” he added.

And it seems these sessions with the former Nuggets star paid off. During one of their games, the GSW star put up 54 points against Anthony’s team. More recently, Curry missed the opportunity to cross Melo’s 37 points at the Olympics, when he scored 36 against Serbia. Nevertheless, watching the same kid, who once trained with him nearly two decades back, win his first Olympic gold must’ve been an emotional one for Anthony.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.