Two years have passed, and I still miss that summer.

Why did we love the US men's basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics? Because as basketball fans, it was the purest joy we could experience.

That summer, almost all fans set aside off-court disputes, with no arguments over historical rankings, no hype or tearing down. Fans of LeBron, Durant, and Curry—three fanbases—rarely and briefly reached a consensus, enjoying every game where these three played together.

That US team was turbulent from the selection process. Many believed the omission of newly crowned Finals MVP Jaylen Brown was due to sneaker brand issues. Later, US men's basketball general manager Grant Hill personally explained it was because of position overlap.

At that time, the US roster had LeBron James and Kevin Durant naturally occupying two starting forward spots. Adding Kawhi Leonard and Jayson Tatum made four forwards, leaving no room. Later, when Leonard withdrew and Derrick White replaced him, that was after Jaylen Brown had already been left out. Leonard's withdrawal was also talked about for a long time; he even took the official team photo but still pulled out due to injury.

From the exhibition games, this US team attracted great attention. Kevin Durant missed all warm-up games due to injury, so the team played with only 11 players. The US team did not dominate as expected; South Sudan and Germany both battled them to the final moments.

Against South Sudan, LeBron James made a near-game-winning layup in the final seconds, and Anthony Davis came up with the game-saving defensive stop. The duo's victory brought back memories of the 2020 bubble, when they were still Lakers teammates.

Against Germany, James stepped up again, going 4-for-4 in the final moments to score all 11 points and seal the win. After these two warm-up games, James had proven himself as the team's anchor and absolute leader. When the exhibition games ended, James rallied the team: "We were down in both games. That's a great thing for us."

Once the tournament began, the US dominated all three group games. In their debut, they crushed Serbia; Kevin Durant shot 8-for-9, 5-for-5 from three, for 23 points, while LeBron James took over in the fourth quarter again. Jayson Tatum's full-game DNP became the biggest talking point.

I remember clearly a joke at the time: "Good thing Jaylen Brown didn't come, otherwise he would have been the one on the bench." In truth, being on the US team surrounded by All-Stars, someone had to make sacrifices. There was no intentional DNP by Steve Kerr.

Tyrese Haliburton later said on LeBron's show: "Coach Kerr started by saying not everyone would get playing time. LeBron mentioned that he didn't get much playing time in the 2004 Olympics either. I sat there listening, and thought, that makes sense.

But when we started watching film, I was thinking, who are they talking about? I looked around and thought, he's not talking about him, nor about him. Ah! They're talking about me!"

So Haliburton quickly accepted that he was the last man in the rotation. He was the happiest person throughout the Paris Olympics, following the stars around like a background player, touring Paris, and picking up a gold medal along the way.

Throughout the group stage, or the entire Olympics, Joel Embiid faced the most criticism while also providing the most entertainment. Because he had previously committed to playing for France but later changed his mind, Embiid became the most booed player by the Paris crowd. In the final group game, facing a storm of boos, Embiid responded with a high-EQ smile, even treating the boos as love and respect.

After an easy win over Brazil in the knockout stage to reach the semifinals, the real test came for the US team. They narrowly beat Serbia by 4 points in the semifinals, with the outcome decided in the final minute. Serbia led by 7 points in the fourth quarter, then Embiid stepped up with consecutive scores to stabilize the situation, followed by a joint performance from LeBron, Durant, and Curry.

LeBron made a crucial tying layup, Curry hit a three to take the lead, and Durant sealed the game with a mid-range jumper. The three combined for the final 13 points, every key play thrilling the crowd. The long-awaited LeBron-Durant-Curry trio finally showed their chemistry in this game. Of the 32 points in the fourth quarter, LeBron, Durant, Curry, and Embiid contributed 29—a testament to the value of four MVPs.

In this game, LeBron recorded a triple-double, and Curry shook off his slump to drop 36 points with 9 three-pointers. But Embiid's performance was also crucial; he held his own against Nikola Jokić's low-post offense and made key defensive plays. With one game like this, Embiid's trip was worthwhile.

The final against France produced a legendary performance from Curry. The tough corner three over Victor Wembanyama was just an appetizer; the main course was four straight three-pointers in the closing moments, including one directly assisted by LeBron. The LeBron-Curry pick-and-roll was also terrifyingly effective.

The last three-pointer, the one that sealed the game, came as Curry, already on fire with three consecutive threes, faced a double-team from Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier and still managed a fadeaway. The ball traced a perfect arc into the net. Batum recalled: "99.99999% of players in the world would miss that shot. Only one person could make it, and that's him."

Curry made the "night night" victory gesture, and "goodnight France, goodnight Paris" became the final image of this Olympic basketball tournament, a perfect ending. LeBron was named tournament MVP and joined Curry on the All-Star Five. Throughout the Olympics, LeBron was the team's brain, controlling the game's tempo, and also had the highest efficiency rating on the team.

Another memorable aspect of this US team was that after every knockout game, the entire team would sit on the steps for a group photo, like a bunch of friends who just finished a pickup game, bragging afterwards—full of relaxed vibes. In the final photo, everyone wore gold medals and held a bottle of champagne. LeBron, that old guy, must have been craving that for a long time.

With the fulfilling journey of 2024, one can't help but look forward to the Los Angeles Olympics in two years. Will the US team replicate this glory? Durant has stated he will definitely play. Curry should also try to compete. But can LeBron still play for another two years? He signed a two-year contract with the 76ers. If he can play for two more years, maybe we'll see him at the 2028 Olympics.

We once thought Paris 2024 would be the swan song for LeBron, Durant, and Curry. But if these three can still play together four years later, it will be the greatest blessing for fans.