Stephen Curry’s gold medal summer and his “Nuit Nuit” gesture are still felt at the opening of NBA camps

Stephen Curry understood the question and didn’t even have to think about the answer. Someone wanted to know what French words the Golden State Warriors star learned during his gold medal experience at the Paris Olympics this summer.

“Nuit nuit,” Curry said.

Naturally.

The hottest basketball move in the world this summer wasn’t a crossover dribble, a stepback jumper or any kind of no-look pass. It’s been the summer of “night-night,” Curry’s signature hand-to-face gesture that he makes when the game is over — essentially, when he’s put the other team to sleep. The whole world saw it after his impressive series of four three-pointers, with the drama increasing with each one, in the final few minutes of USA Basketball’s gold medal win over France in August.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi – just the biggest soccer star in the world – was on the night a few weeks ago. At last weekend’s Presidents Cup, Si Woo Kim celebrated a chip-in by pulling off the night (a little premature considering the USA won the event again), and at the Democratic National Convention, even Warriors coach Steve Mit celebrated gesture, Kerr capped his speech in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

And as this NBA season begins — all teams are now in training camp — it’s still all the rage.

“I saw it at the DNC, I saw it at the Presidents Cup in golf, I saw it everywhere, Messi did it,” Curry said. “I think Steve has the big advantage because he knows it was a good time to do something good at the end of a great speech and bring some good energy into the building. Si Woo Kim, greetings. I appreciate him doing that – even though I told him he needs to remember the time and the result and know that if you last one night you have to win.”

The night was epic.

The four shots that preceded the gesture – the four shots that gave the USA gold – are also still the talk of the NBA.

“That’s Steph Steph.”

Warriors teammate Brandon Podziemski has seen Curry accomplish all sorts of remarkable feats in both practice and games.

And as he watched the gold medal game, he knew Curry was in for something special.

“I just really thought, this is Steph being Steph,” Podziemski said. “And by that I mean he just gets into these modes and phases where I don’t know what’s happening. You just give him the ball and just let him do his thing and that’s it.”

That’s exactly what the Americans did in those few minutes. He tried to pass the ball to Kevin Durant a few times; Durant sent it back to him immediately. Devin Booker had a layup chance; Instead, he threw the ball back to Curry beyond the arc. It was his time. They knew it. France knew it. Podziemski knew it.

“I see it in practice all the time,” Podziemski said. “He just lets his body take over.”

“The biggest shooting show I’ve ever seen”

Karl-Anthony Towns sat on his couch about three minutes before the gold medal game, watching just like the rest of the world.

He didn’t sit there long.

“It got me off the couch,” said Towns, the four-time NBA All-Star who is about to enter his 10th season. “I’m 28, 29 now. I’ve been in the NBA for 10 years. I played against this man four times a year. I’ve never had a man make me feel 15 years old and I did that. I need to get up off the couch and shoot some damn basketballs, I’ve never – ever – had that .

Towns said what made it even better was that Curry did four different shots, four different types and four different types of footwork.

“It was the greatest shooting exhibition I’ve ever seen,” Towns said.

“It didn’t surprise me”

Miami guard Tyler Herro saw early in the Olympics that Curry was struggling with his shot.

He knew this wouldn’t last. Actually, he was right.

“It’s the preparation that he does, the attitude that he has,” Herro said. “It didn’t surprise me. Everyone knows how good he is and how hard he works and prepares. That’s kind of what I’m trying to take away from him, what he does, how he works, how he does everything as far as the speed of the game.”

Herro knows the shooting — and the night-night — will be repeated forever.

“I mean, the impact he has, not just on basketball in America but everywhere,” Herro said. “They do it at FIBA ​​games. Messi does it. I can only imagine what the rest of the world is like.” This is Steph. It’s so crazy.”

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