NBA great Steph Curry’s Olympic gold quest with the Dream Team

It’s NBA icon Steph Curry’s first and only Olympics, and as ROBERT CRADDOCK witnesses, he and his superstar Dream Team teammates are turning heads all over Paris.

Steph Curry charmed the world’s media as the Dream Team stormed Paris. Picture: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Steph Curry is determined to watch beach volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower this Olympics in a move which leaves a provocative question hanging in the air.

Who do you reckon will turn more heads – one of the world’s most iconic tourist attractions ... or the Tower?

Yes, he is that big.

There’s small, medium and large in the fame stakes at these Games. Then there’s the USA Dream Team basketball side floating very much by itself in a galaxy far, far away.

“I get juiced up watching the other athletes – you don’t want to sit in your hotel room – and I want to watch the beach volleyball,” Curry said, “but I will be guided by the veterans as I’m not sure what to expect.”

We have some idea. The 40 cameras and 200 journalists at the Team USA press conference on Thursday told its own story of the global fascination with a Dream Team worth a collective $819 million – roughly the same as Beyonce.

Curry has arrived in Paris looking very much the cool, ready-for-anything dude he has always been.

His only moment of wide-eyedness came when he sat down and he scanned the media room from front to back and, for a few fleeting moments, his eyebrows raised and he looked curiously in awe.

Even Curry was surprised with the media turnout for Team USA. Picture:Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Then, with Kevin Durant beside him, he went 41 minutes hitting nothing but net in a performance that was respectful, insightful and entertaining.

To the man who redefined the game with his freakish three-point shooting, Paris mean everything and nothing.

If he never scored a point he would still be that rare and cherished player who changed the fabric of the sport he played and inspired a generation of youngsters to crave to be long-range lobbers with the master’s William Tell-like accuracy.

But at age 36, this is the final frontier, his one and only Olympics, his sole chance for the medal that would fill the last gap in a trophy cabinet cluttered with four NBA titles and two NBA MVP awards.

Curry is one of the few players who transcends the Olympics but, incredibly, teammate LeBron James floats even higher. The fascination of watching GOATs past and present play together is one of this Games must-monitor threads.

“When you get to play with a guy with his level of IQ it just speaks for itself,’’ Curry said. “He’s a guy who can dribble, pass shoot. You just try and make the right play for him and something good will happen.’’

Curry jokes with Anthony Edwards during the a training session ahead of the Games. Picture: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Dream Team shape the world around them.

You’ve never seen a more excited group of players than the often-ignored USA water polo team when 100 or so journalists flooded into their press conference.

The athlete’s joy was punctured when it dawned on them that the media throng were there early to get seats for the basketball show that followed.

For all of their fame Curry knows there must be grit with the glamour if the USA is to win its 17th Olympic gold.

“When you’re on the floor, you’re asked to do a certain thing and do it to the best of your ability and with energy. If we do that, good things happen,’’ Curry said.

The rest of the world is in awe of the Dream Team but doesn’t fear them anymore given many have their own NBA stars. South Sudan almost knocked them off in a warm-up game last week.

There’s a chance that for all their talent they may not completely jell. But when you listen to cool cat Curry you wonder how they they ever lose a game.

Originally published as NBA great Steph Curry’s Olympic gold quest with the Dream Team