Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry seem to have a very solid relationship these days, and that was on full display when the two of them helped Team USA win gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But things weren’t always that rosy between the two NBA icons, and this week, NBA insider Sam Amick shared some insight into their history.
“It was really surreal for me to watch he (Curry) and LeBron specifically just enjoy each other as much as they did (in the Olympics) because we were at all those Finals where — I don’t care what LeBron says now — it’s not a matter of them having animosity towards one another, but they were rivals,” he said. “Their camps didn’t always love the way that the other player was talked about.
“LeBron’s people did not love it when people started callin’ Steph the best player in the world, and there was a tension that was real. And then there were on-court moments, right, where LeBron, with his massive size, is kinda bodying Steph and making sure the world sees him as less than and kinda the small, younger guy. That dynamic was real.
“So, to go from that to these guys genuinely clicking and havin’ such a great time together was the kind of thing I never thought I’d see.”
When James was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he faced Curry’s Warriors in four consecutive NBA Finals. The Warriors came out on top in three of those years, but in 2016, the Cavs were able to capture one of the most iconic championships in NBA history by stunning Golden State.
In total, James and Curry each have four NBA titles. They’d both certainly love to earn No. 5, but there are factors working against them. In particular, both players are aging (and therefore possibly running out of time), and they’re playing for teams that didn’t exactly look like championship contenders last season.
One avenue that has received a lot of media attention is the possibility of the two superstars teaming up at some point before their careers come to an end, but it’s unclear just how realistic that idea is. For what it’s worth, James could become an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.
In the upcoming season, the two players will remain in each other’s way in the Western Conference. The Lakers and Warriors are both hoping to have resurgent seasons, and if they do, there could be some fierce matchups between Los Angeles and Golden State during the regular season and perhaps in the playoffs.
