"I'm sick of USA making a big deal": Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo slams Steph Curry & Kevin Durant's celebration of Olympic gold
Team USA, led by Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and LeBron James, captured Olympic gold, defeating France in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The win marked the fourth gold of Kevin Durant's career, making him the most decorated male Olympian from Team USA. Additionally, the win was the first, and likely only, Olympic gold medal of Steph Curry's career.
Given Curry's magnificent play, and the magnitude of the win for Team USA, many members of the NBA community have been singing the praises of the two NBA stars.
However, ESPN's Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo was unimpressed. The way he saw things, Team USA shouldn't be overly celebratory of a win over Evan Fournier and the rest of Les Bleus.
On Wednesday's installment of First Take, he took aim at Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and the rest of Team USA:
"I am sick of USA basketball on the men's side making a big deal about winning a gold medal. Stephen Curry putting people to sleep. It's a 10-day tournament, they play six games. You know what they were favored in the gold medal game? By 16 points.
"They got a million Hall of Famers on this team. And then Durant is tweeting after the game, 'Look at me with all these gold medals?' and he's on the slide? Calm down, guys."
Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo names 1976 Olympic gold medal as the biggest in Team USA history, ranks it ahead of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry's 2024 win in Paris
The 2024 Olympic roster for Team USA was not only comprised of some of the biggest stars in NBA history, but it also was likely the first & only time fans will get to see LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry all compete for Team USA.
In addition to the fact that the 2028 Olympics will likely take place after the three NBA stars retire, the stakes were at an all-time high for several other reasons. As previously mentioned, Kevin Durant was seeking his fourth Olympic gold medal, while Steph Curry was looking to capture his first.
Additionally, the team battled through adversity, nearly falling to South Sudan in a pre-Olympic international friendly, before going down to the wire with Serbia in the Olympic semifinals.
At the same time, Team USA failed to medal at the FIBA World Cup last summer, making this year's Olympic team the Redeem Team 2.0 in the eyes of many fans. According to Chris Russo, however, Team USA's 1976 Olympic win was the most significant.
"The most significant gold medal in basketball we ever won, without a doubt, is 1976, because that's after we got absolutely killed in 1972 in Munich.
"But the idea that we are going to make a big deal. That Durant. And Davis. And Embiid and Booker and Curry and LeBron, these are some of the greatest basketball players in the history of creation. And they beat Evan Fournier."
As Russo's co-hosts laughed, Stephen A. Smith was briefly seen shaking his head in disbelief at the take.