LeBron James and Stephen Curry have become synonymous for their generational impact on basketball.
An entire NBA era could be defined by their greatness, headlined by four consecutive meetings in the NBA Finals from 2015-18.
James and Curry have never been shy about admitting their admiration for each other's game. When Curry was bursting on the scene as a rising star at Davidson College, James was in the stands watching the show. Even though more than a decade of battles in the NBA, they have always praised each other and expressed their desire to one day become teammates in some capacity.
NBA All-Star Games aside, we will get to see James and Curry compete on the same team for the first time at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Get to know their road from mutual fans, to rivals, to USA Basketball co-stars below.
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LeBron James-Stephen Curry relationship, explained
LeBron James watches Davidson Stephen Curry live twice
It all started when Curry stole the spotlight during March Madness in 2008. The "Babyfaced Assassin" captured America's hearts by going off for 40 points against Gonzaga and 30 points against Georgetown in two upset wins to kick off the tournament.
Davidson's Sweet 16 game was conveniently placed in Detroit when James' Cavaliers had an upcoming matchup with the Pistons, so 23-year-old LeBron went to see what all the hype was about.
Fast forward to the following December, and James also happened to have a road game against the Bobcats when Curry's Davidson squad played NC State in Charlotte. With The King in attendance, Curry put on a show again, erupting for 44 points in a win.
Curry would go No. 7 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, but the two wouldn't spark their rivalry until 2015, when the Cavaliers and Warriors met in four consecutive NBA Finals.
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Four NBA Finals battles form a rivalry
As you well know, Curry and Golden State took three of those four championship matchups over James and Cleveland.
The megastars always seemed to have mutual respect, but Curry revealed that he believed there was a "healthy resentment" between the two faces of the NBA in a recent story by The Athletic's Joe Vardon
“It was like a healthy resentment of somebody that’s standing in your way,” Curry told The Athletic. “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.”
James reportedly "nodded in agreement" to the idea of a rivalry between him and Curry, but he said the idea that they should hate each other was a "false media narrative."
“The game of basketball don’t last forever,” James told The Athletic. “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,” James said.
“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],” James concluded.
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LeBron James and Stephen Curry finally team up with USA Basketball
Back in 2022, on an episode of "The Shop," James mentioned that Curry is the NBA player he would most like to team up with.
"Steph Curry's the one that I wanna play with for sure, in today's game. ... I love everything about that guy. Lethal. When he get out his car, you better guard him right from the moment he pulls up to the arena. ... You might wanna guard him when he get out of the bed," James joked.
Curry relayed a similar praise after playing alongside James during Team USA's training camp for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"To have LeBron as a teammate is surreal because you have so many battles back and forth, you admire his game, you know what he's about, and to see the work up close and personal every day, to see how he prepares, how he talks in practice, I've never had that vantage point of him," Curry told Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill.
When James and Curry saw each other for the first time at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas for USA Basketball training camp, James reportedly had a message that is relatable to basketball fans all around the world.
"'Bout time. 'Bout [expletive] time."
