LeBron James and Stephen Curry: A Rivalry Turned Bromance
In the moments following LeBron James outshining Stephen Curry with a timeless 42-point, 17-rebound performance, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 120-112 victory, the Golden State Warriors star found himself in a familiar yet evolving scenario. As “I Love L.A.” echoed through the arena, Curry encountered the Lakers’ latest superstar, Luka Doncic. The two shared a laugh, with Curry wrapping an arm around Doncic, before James and Curry exchanged a handshake and a hug, their mouths covered to keep their words private.
Their teams, however, have given the NBA plenty to discuss, especially during the trade deadline week. First, there was the blockbuster trade that shocked everyone, pairing James with a generational All-NBA teammate. Then, Curry gained a new All-Star partner in Jimmy Butler.
The Lakers and Warriors have made significant moves to strengthen their positions in the Western Conference. Both franchises are eager to give James and Curry another shot at rekindling the fierce competition of their four consecutive NBA Finals matchups from 2015 to 2018, two of which featured Kevin Durant alongside Curry. While they may face each other in the conference playoffs, their relationship has evolved from bitter rivalry to what Warriors and Team USA coach Steve Kerr describes as a “total bromance,” a transformation that began in Paris when they won a gold medal together with Team USA.
The Evolution of a Relationship
Once characterized by “petty” feelings and “dislike,” the relationship between James and Curry has matured significantly. The Warriors have even attempted to pair the superstars together, making an unsuccessful bid to acquire James last season. Ahead of last week’s trade deadline, they explored trading for Durant but ultimately found success in acquiring Butler.
Rejuvenated by Butler’s arrival, Curry remains realistic about the possibility of teaming up with James or Durant in Golden State. “No, I mean, the league has surprised us for sure,” Curry told ESPN. “Yeah, you could say that anything can happen. A version of ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ is that phrase. I don’t think about that, though.”
A Historic Reunion
This weekend marks a historic reunion as Curry, an All-Star Weekend host with festivities in San Francisco and Oakland, reunites with his Olympic teammates. With James at 40 and Curry and Durant at 36, the trio is acutely aware of the limited opportunities remaining for such gatherings.
“There ain’t going to be that many times left,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “So you take it all in and you don’t take it for granted. It’s coming to an end soon.”
From College to the NBA
Reflecting on their journey, Curry recalls when James requested tickets to watch him play against Wisconsin at Ford Field in the 2008 Sweet 16. Curry was initially skeptical until he saw James, then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, seated behind press row. “Even Davidson, the fan base, we all wore red ‘Witness’ T-shirts,” Curry reminisced, referencing the Nike slogan for James at the time.
When the Cavaliers visited the Charlotte Bobcats, Curry attended to watch James, who gifted him a signed Cavaliers No. 23 jersey with the message “The Best Player in N.C.” on it. “I still got it at my dad’s house in Charlotte,” Curry said.
Trade Talks and Team Dynamics
Over 15 years after James watched Curry in the NCAA tournament, the Warriors attempted to pair Curry and James during a clandestine 24-hour window before the 2024 trade deadline. Encouraged by Draymond Green, Golden State owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to inquire about James’ openness to a trade. Buss and the Lakers were not interested in trading James but suggested Lacob speak with James’ agent, Rich Paul.
Curry did not reach out to James to gauge his interest before Paul and the Lakers informed the Warriors that James wanted to remain in L.A. “Like any talented high-IQ basketball player, whether it’s LeBron, whether it’s KD, whether it’s me, whether it’s AD, whoever you put him on any team, you should be able to figure it out,” Curry told ESPN about the trade scenario that never materialized.
Reflecting on Rivalry and Respect
James and Curry last faced each other in the NBA Finals in 2018, with James’ Cavaliers losing for the third time in four Finals to Curry’s Warriors. The idea of the two teaming up seemed far-fetched when they were competing for the same NBA throne.
“I mean, s—, when you’re in a dogfight and there’s one guy that’s trying to stop you from reaching your goals, you’re going to dislike that person,” James told ESPN. “He disliked me, I disliked him because we were both fighting for what the f— we wanted, and that’s the Larry O’Brien Trophy.”
After 22 games over four straight NBA Finals, Curry said a “healthy resentment and appropriate fear” developed for the player whose signed jersey hung in his old bedroom. “All you think about is just winning,” Curry said. “So, yeah, it was petty. It was competitive. Trash talking. All the above. [But] there’s always respect. I didn’t like the player. The person’s always great. You just hate when he has a jersey on wearing No. 23.”
Failed Reunion and New Beginnings
A year after the Warriors were rebuffed by James, they turned their attention to reuniting Curry with Durant. Discussions with the Phoenix Suns about a Durant-Golden State reunion were unsuccessful, as Durant indicated to Curry that a Warriors sequel didn’t “feel right” and that he wasn’t looking to leave Phoenix.
“You need everybody to be all bought in no matter what the history you have,” Curry told ESPN about his talk with Durant. “And I respect KD. It’s all about having peace of mind and happiness. Neither one of us controlled that [trade] situation. It’s just you want to make sure somebody wants to be somewhere. Other than that, I’m not trying to convince anybody to be somewhere they don’t want to be.”
Curry expressed no hard feelings or resentment. “I don’t blame Kevin one bit for not wanting to rerun things here,” Kerr told ESPN. “He took so much s— for like, ‘Oh, you’re jumping on the bandwagon’ [when he signed with Golden State as a free agent in 2016]. And then he’s Finals MVP two years in a row. It’s like he still gets criticized. So why would he want to face all that B.S. again?”
Team USA and the All-Star Weekend
The swanky celebrity hot spot L’Avenue hosted the biggest party in Paris as Team USA’s gold medal celebration continued into the early hours of Aug. 11. Curry, wearing a blue hoodie with his trademark celebration “NUIT NUIT” in French, found James in the crowd. Wearing their gold medals, the two superstars shared a personal moment, reflecting on their journey to gold.
They retraced their steps, from assembling the right squad to overcoming a 17-point deficit to Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the semifinals. Curry’s golden flurry of four 3-pointers in the final 2:48 had him and James doing the “night night” pose at France’s expense in an unforgettable gold medal game.
“[We talked about] everything that had to go right to be able to celebrate a gold medal,” Curry told ESPN about that conversation with James. “He had experienced it plenty of times before, but it was a little sense of relief, and it was also like this is exactly what we signed up for. And the experience, it overdelivered — not just winning the gold, but getting to know each other better. I’ve seen him celebrate championships, he’s seen me celebrate championships. That was kind of cool to do it together.”
Watching James and Curry develop their relationship from fierce competitors to USA Basketball’s co-leaders reminded Grant Hill of another historic rivalry turned friendship. “It reminded me a little bit of Magic and Bird,” Hill told ESPN. “And those guys getting after it and then just appreciating later on [as teammates on the Dream Team] how each other pushed and pulled greatness out of each other.”
Looking Ahead
James and Curry have come to cherish their meetings, such as their 2021 play-in matchup and 2023 second-round series — both won by James’ Lakers. James added a fourth championship in the bubble in 2020, and Curry followed suit two years later, in between those Golden State losses to the Lakers.
“As we get longer in our careers, then you appreciate what that person was able to do for you,” James said. “Because that person motivated you throughout that whole thing. You sit back like, ‘OK, how many more times do we have to go against each other? To have moments?’ When you look back at it, OK, yes, we always went at each other. We still do now. But you appreciate the moments even more because you know you don’t have many moments left.”
This weekend, Curry, James, and Durant will look to create one more of those moments and pick up where they left off in Paris. “I always had a bond with LeBron and Steph,” Durant told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Obviously being [Curry’s] teammate. So mutual respect has always been there. It was cool just hanging around them every day [with Team USA]. It was simple and easy to be around them. It felt like we’d been playing together for the longest.”
Curry repeatedly said things will not be awkward “at all” when he teams up with Durant this weekend, even after the failed trade talks. Curry understands there might not be many more times, if any, that he, James, and Durant will play together on the same team after Sunday.
“The fact that this summer we played together and the whole deal kind of adds a cool storyline [to the All-Star Game],” Curry told ESPN. “It will be fun. All of us are aware you won’t be able to play forever. These opportunities are very precious, from the Olympics to All-Star, it adds other chapters that we never really thought were possible.”
Butler’s Impact on the Warriors
While Curry will be surrounded by All-Stars on Sunday, he has spent much of this frustrating season without a second star to help him. Opponents have been able to smother Curry without another scoring threat to turn to after Klay Thompson‘s offseason departure to Dallas. But Curry has recently found double teams easier to beat thanks to Butler.
With under 10 seconds to go in the first half on Monday in Milwaukee, Curry was dribbling down the clock with Taurean Prince on him before Kyle Kuzma came off his man to double Curry, who found a rolling Butler at the free-throw line. The newest Warrior drew multiple Bucks defenders before bouncing a pass to a wide-open Green for a dunk.
In the two games prior to Butler’s arrival, Curry scored 32 and 37 points in losses at the Jazz and Lakers, but he launched 31 and 35 shots in each game as well. In the first two games with Butler, Curry scored 34 and 38 points while shooting 10-for-19 and 12-for-24 overall, respectively, in wins at Chicago and Milwaukee.
“There’s definitely a correlation,” Curry said after beating the Bucks 125-111 on Monday in Butler’s second game. “Every possession just doesn’t feel as hard.”
Butler might not have been the first choice, but he could end up being the right one for Golden State. The six-time All-Star, who was not among the players selected to play in San Francisco this weekend, does so many of the things the Warriors have sorely lacked this season, such as his abilities to take the scoring burden off Curry, get to the free throw line, drive and kick, and defend.
“He’s like the exact opposite player of me, which is kind of funny,” Curry said after the Warriors beat the Bulls 132-111 in Butler’s debut. “[This] has a potential to be really, really fun.”
- Of the 123 players who have averaged at least 10 field goal attempts this season, Curry has the sixth-longest average shot distance of 19.9 feet. Butler averages the eighth shortest at 8.5 feet, according to ESPN Research.
“They say opposites attract in a lot of ways in life,” said Butler, who signed a two-year, $111 million extension after the trade to Golden State. “I don’t think I could be a better complement to him and vice versa.”
The Warriors started this season 12-3 with hopes of a repeat of 2021-22 when they surprised many with a fourth championship in eight seasons. But visions of another title run faded as Golden State lost 23 of the next 36 games. A frustrated Curry looked defeated at times as the Warriors suffered inexplicable losses.
But now Curry is rejuvenated and “excited” to finally have a new star to play with — a star who wants to be in Golden State. The Warriors are off to a 3-1 start with Butler, and the goal is to reach the sixth seed in the Western Conference with 27 games left after the All-Star break. Curry said before the trade that he wanted to avoid the play-in and that he believed Golden State can beat anyone in a seven-game series. He still believes that, perhaps more so with Butler.
“I think it all worked out as it probably was supposed to,” Kerr said. “For Jimmy, it’s a fresh start. For us, it’s a different vibe, different look. Kevin didn’t feel [a reunion], so it wouldn’t have been healthy for him to come here or for us if he didn’t want to be here. Obviously, we would’ve been thrilled with either one of them. But I think it all worked out as it was supposed to.”
Originally Written by: Ohm Youngmisuk
