One of the biggest talking points around Team USA ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics has to do with the fantastic chemistry between NBA superstars Stephen Curry and LeBron James both on and off the court.
Many still find it hard to believe these legends are playing for the same team after being rivals for so many years at the highest level. In a recent interview with The Athletic, Curry addressed this situation and even admitted having a “healthy resentment” of James.
“It was like a healthy resentment of somebody that’s standing in your way,” Curry said. “But through it all, like there’s obviously the utmost respect for who he is as a person and a player and like how good he is and the challenge of trying to beat him and trying to solve that problem every year.”
Curry and LeBron faced each other in four different NBA Finals, with Steph leading the Golden State Warriors to victory on three of those occasions. James, on the other hand, was able to deliver the first championship to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, when his team came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Dubs.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry laughing during a game.
LeBron James embracing chance to team up with Stephen Curry
Even though they’ve competed for the spotlight for years, James and Curry have always shown nothing but respect for each other, especially when they met in All-Star Games. Now they’re finally getting the chance to join forces, something The King is trying to make the most of.
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“The game of basketball don’t last forever,” James said. “You don’t want to waste the opportunity to be able to have a relationship with someone. A lot of y’all maybe grew up in the Bird-Magic era and we shouldn’t like each other, but I’m also (aware) enough to know that Isiah (Thomas) and Magic hugged and kissed each other on the floor too because it was just mutual respect. They say Michael never talked to any of his opponents, but I’m also smart enough to know that him and Charles (Barkley) had a lot of conversations during the ’93 finals and also played golf against each other. So I don’t want to lose those moments (with Curry).”
Kevin Durant weighs in on LeBron and Curry’s relationship
Another star involved in the LeBron-Curry rivalry in the 2010s was Kevin Durant, who helped Steph win multiple championships in the Bay area. According to KD, the competition between them forged so much respect for one another that it eventually led to a friendship.
“He ain’t young Steph no more, and he’s not the Bron that you were looking up to no more — you become competitors,” Durant said. “I think that respect level goes up even more. I think they became better friends now than they were when they went through that experience, competing with one another and being rivals, if you call it that You could see that, you can see how much they respect one another.”
