Curry’s Olympics, NBA LeBron-Bronny, and Caitlin Clark fever: 2024 review

Basketball in 2024 enjoyed a breakout year with global coverage more sustained than ever before.

It will be remembered for new record-setting achievements, memorable plays, female basketball’s coming-out party, and huge worldwide events like the Olympics shining a larger than ever profile on the sport.

Here are Al Jazeera’s top basketball moments of 2024:

1. LeBron & Bronny James – the first NBA father-son duo

On the opening night of the 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 39-year-old superstar and his 20-year-old son, who was drafted by the Lakers with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, played almost two and a half minutes together late in the first half of Bronny’s debut.

The moment they stepped onto the NBA court together on October 22, 2024, they actually made history twice: first father and son to play in the league at the same time; and first father and son to play together on the same team.

For LeBron, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, the Bronny “moment” may turn out to be one of the most enduring memories of his career as fans around the world were able to bear witness to a proud father sharing the professional sporting limelight with his son.

2. Caitlin Clark mania

Clark’s incredible whirlwind run from the American College NCAA tournament to the professional world of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was one of the most trending sports stories of 2024.

On March 3, Clark’s profile exploded on social and traditional media after she eclipsed Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old, all-time NCAA college basketball scoring record of 3,667 points – a record many fans believed would never be broken.

On April 15, she was selected first in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever amid gigantic expectations she would have a transformative effect on women’s professional basketball. Clark, 22, didn’t disappoint; her live games obliterating WNBA TV viewership records with the 1.83m (six foot) point guard going on to set a single-game assists record and win the Rookie of the Year.

In the final analysis, Clark elevated to the highest echelon of basketball greatness in the American market, rapidly crossing over from the sporting world to the cultural mainstream of public life – no small achievement.

3. Stephen Curry lights up the Paris Olympics

It was a stacked USA ‘dream’ team that attended the Summer Games in the French capital, Paris, but unusually, one superstar waited until he was 36 to make his Olympic debut and he just happened to be the greatest three-point shooter to ever play in the NBA: Stephen Curry.

Curry’s opening four matches at the Olympic tournament were anything but memorable with the 1.9m (six foot, three inch) guard stinking up the court, averaging just 7.3 points per game on a dismal 35.7 percent shooting, including an embarrassing 26.3 percent from three-point range.

But great shooters keep on shooting – and Curry went on a magnificent scoring heat-check for the all-important semifinal and final matches.

First, he saved Team USA from the jaws of certain defeat against Serbia in the semi, raining down nine three-pointers and scoring 36 points; the second-highest scoring performance by an American in Olympic history.

Then, with 2.42 remaining in the final against host nation France, and with the USA clinging to a slender three-point lead at 82-79, the Golden State Warriors player went berserk, making four out of four three-pointers in a stunning two-minute and seven-second span.

When he nailed the fourth three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining – a ridiculous circus shot over the outstretched arms of two much taller French defenders bearing down on him – the Olympic gold medal was assured for the Americans. Curry finished an outstanding 8-for-13 from three-point range in Team USA’s exhilarating 98-87 win over Team France.

Curry’s superlative gold medal performance at Bercy Arena was immortalised by one of his three-pointers being photographed over the outstretched arm of the tallest man at the Olympics, France’s 2.26m (seven feet, four inch) centre, Victor Wembanyama.

Curry averaged 30 points for Team USA in the tournament’s semifinal and gold medal games.

That is the highest average of any player in Olympic history.

4. Antman rises to new heights in NBA playoffs

Minnesota guard Anthony “Antman” Edwards had already wowed NBA fans with arguably the “dunk of the year” in the regular season against Utah on March 19, but he may have eclipsed even that epic slam in the playoffs with an extraordinary flush against Dallas in Game three of the Western Conference finals on May 26.

Unfortunately for the opposing centre Daniel Gafford, he will forever be posterized as the opposing player who Antman happened to skywalk over in this extraordinary display of athleticism.

Minnesota eventually lost the playoff series to Dallas 4-1 – but not before the Antman’s eruptive, highwire act had several basketball commentators comparing his aerial exploits with the man many people consider to be the greatest NBA player of all time, one Michael “Air” Jordan.

5. Boston wins first NBA title since 2008

Sixteen years is a long time between championship drinks for the NBA’s winningest franchise to wait for another title.

The Celtics dominated the regular season, posting a league-best 64 wins, 18 losses record.

They then swept through the playoffs with an outstanding 16-3 record, dispatching Miami (4-1) in the first round, Cleveland (4-1) in the second, Indiana (4-0) in the Eastern Conference finals before finishing their title run with an impressive defeat of the Dallas Mavericks (4-1) in the NBA Finals.

Boston’s Jaylen Brown was awarded the NBA Finals’ Most Valuable Player (MVP) – but this Celtics’ championship run was characterised by a true team effort featuring arguably the league’s best starting five: Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

With their core players all back for the current season, Boston remain the favourites to repeat as champions in June 2025 – and few would bet against them failing to collect a record 19th NBA title for the storied franchise.

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