For the second year in a row, the NBA gets a chance to showcase its Golden Boy and Homecoming King together on one court.
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We don’t know how much Stephen Curry and LeBron James will be matched up one-on-one during the NBA Finals, but we do know both men will be the center of attention for the opposing team and the public in general. It’s the NBA way.
James and Curry own six combined MVPs and have won three of the last four NBA championships. They also ranked first and second in jersey sales, respectively.
But for all they have in common, it’s their differences that make this matchup compelling.
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Curry, son of NBA veteran Dell, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, while James had to seek out father figures as he was shuffled around by relatives because his teenage mother struggled to find herself. Yet it was James who was earmarked for stardom at an early age, as pro scouts started fawning over him as early as his sophomore season in high school. Curry, meanwhile, struggled to secure a Division I scholarship.
James skipped college all together, learning on the fly as the savior for his hometown NBA franchise. By the time he would have been a college senior, he was leading an undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers squad to the NBA Finals.
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Curry landed at Davidson, a school that hadn’t made much noise since Lefty Driesell skipped town for Maryland in the late 1960s. Curry would go on to show flashes of the brilliance we now see with the Warriors, but nobody expected him to do it in the NBA.
While Curry was trying to find his way in the league, fighting through injuries and trying to help change a losing culture, James was adding to his legend — winning MVPs, making decisions and adding a couple of rings with Miami.
He eventually came back home to Cleveland and formed a new Big Three, adding Kevin Love to an equation that already included budding superstar in Kyrie Irving. And everyone agreed the title was Cleveland’s for the taking.
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But Curry and the Warriors had other ideas. They came back from a 2-1 deficit in last year’s Finals to win in six games and bring the NBA title back to Oakland for the first time since the Rick Barry era.
Then, the Warriors went out and won 73 games this season, including both matchups against the Cavs. And Curry did something not even James had done — win MVP unanimously. Not only did he get what James was denied — he was one vote short in 2013 — the public seems to have embraced Curry in a way that they’ve never quite embraced James.
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Curry’s got the juice now, and the only way James can get it back is to find a way to win four games before the Warriors pop champagne again.
Can James steal the show with the entire cast this time, or will the Finals be another coronation for Curry and Co.?