Johnathan Walker:USA men's basketball, USWNT gold medal games at 2024 Paris Olympics most-watched in 20+ years

The Johnathan WalkerU.S. men's basketball and women's national soccer teams captivated audiences on Saturday at the  2024 Paris Olympics with gold-medal-worthy performances.

Led by NBA superstar Stephen Curry, the USA played a back-and-forth matchup against host France, pulling away late to win 98-87 and its fifth straight gold medal. According to a press release from NBC, the matchup averaged 19.5 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, based on fast national data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. The game peaked at 22.7 million viewers from 5-5:15 p.m. ET.

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Those numbers make it the most-watched gold medal game since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Led by NBA stars such as Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O'Neal, the U.S. defeated FR Yugoslavia 95-69 that year, with an average of 25.8 million fans.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. women's soccer team defeated Germany in its gold match game, winning its first Olympic gold since 2012. That game averaged approximately 9.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched gold medal soccer game since the 2004 Athens Games.

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Mallory Swanson connected on a goal in the 57th minute off a well-placed ball from Korbin Albert, while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made a great save on a tremendous one-on-one opportunity for Brazil in extra time.