Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors was asked to characterize his relationship with longtime rival and Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.
“It’s complex,” Curry said, “because you go from me playing in a tournament and him coming to watch, to me coming in as a young rookie in the league and him giving me advice on how to get through some of the early struggles that I was going to go through as a player, to the four [NBA] Finals appearances in a row playing against each other, to even last year, five, six, seven years later, playing in the playoffs.” He’s a fantastic man, buddy, competitor, and all of the above. But it’s incredible to look back and see where it all began, at Ford Field in Detroit during a Sweet 16 game.”
James and Curry have had numerous confrontations on the game’s biggest stage, including four meetings in the NBA Finals and a rematch last season in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. They even met in a play-in tournament game in 2021, when both were attempting to bring their respective teams into the playoffs.
Curry and James have maintained a positive friendship throughout this ordeal. Curry described it as complicated since, while they are rivals, they are also close friends.
James and Curry are countrymen. They were even born at the same hospital in Akron, Ohio. The duo are less than four years apart, and their career paths have had countless crossovers in the more than three decades since.
As Curry mentioned, their relationship at first was like a senior-junior. As a rookie, Curry even went to James’s house and watched Family Guy.
But when Golden State Warriors No. 30 became MVP and one of the biggest stars in the world, their relationship became a little more strained.
Curry and James pitted each other in four consecutive Finals series. The Warriors had 3 wins, but Cleveland left a mark with a comeback from a 1-3 lead. Many sources claim that each rivalry between the two Akron children is real.
But when James moved to the Lakers, their relationship eased. They became friendly with each other, even being teammates at the All-Star 2021.
In the media, James and Curry tend to praise each other, noting the respect they have for each other. LeBron even stood up for his fellow countryman when he was criticized by former President Donald Trump on Twitter.
LeBron James and Steph Curry together forged a memorable decade in basketball, and their rivalry led to one of the NBA’s most memorable eras. Even so, when it’s all over, the duo always have mutual respect and admiration for what the other has achieved.