“If you don’t fall, how are you going to know what getting up is like?” Stephen Curry once questioned. During moments when a person is at an all-time low, ‘positivity’ is the one factor that motivates them to continue on. Despite having found immense success on the NBA court over the past 15 years, the Golden State Warriors star struggled a bit upon making his international debut. One mention of positivity from LeBron James, however, was enough to change things. Despite this, Curry made it clear that the same won’t stop him from competing hard against the Lakers star on the NBA court.
Continuing to ride high on his and Team USA’s success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Stephen Curry sat down for an interview with Stephen Colbert! Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the 36-year-old even pulled out his gold medal which, as he said, hasn’t been “out of arm’s length.” When discussing the efforts that took to finally getting that medal, Colbert wanted to know what led him to “flip the switch.”
“Positive self-talk came out like ‘No, we are winning, I know it’s gonna come. I know a flurry is gonna come.’ As soon as I said it, LeBron walks right behind me (and) was like ‘DAMN RIGHT IT IS’ with his baritone voice. First, it caught me off guard, cause I still had to get used to be, you know, liking that guy cause of all of our battles,” Curry revealed on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
“It was definitely confidence boost. Obviously, at the end of the day, it came at the right time.” Despite sending his flowers here, when asked if the “camaraderie” between him and LeBron is going to get in the way during the upcoming NBA season, Curry outright stated “Not at all.” If a bond formed on the international level could not be enough to dissaude the two rivals from taking it easy against each on the NBA court, then nothing will be.
Having been on opposite teams for 15 years now, combined with the fact that both players were instrumental in bringing a wave of popularity to their respective franchises, the matchups between them are always highly anticipated. However, no matter what rivalry they may share on the court, both players highly respect each other.
LeBron and Curry both initially attempted to kick off their friendship in a positive way. During a segment of the latter’s Heat Check podcast, he revealed how LeBron invited him over to his house before one of his first games ever against the Cleveland Cavaliers. From spending time with LeBron, Bronny, and Bryce to playing in the bowling alley, the trip certainly indicated a fruitful mentor-mentee relationship that would be present for years to come. Unfortunately, Curry’s quick rise in the NBA world unintentionally diminished that.
The fact that the Golden State Warriors competed against LeBron’s Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for four consecutive years created a rift out of competitiveness. While they could never be proper friends, mutual respect still existed between the duo.
via Reuters
“It was like a healthy resentment of somebody that’s standing in your way,” Curry said in a July 2024 interview with The Athletic. Even LeBron stated, “The game of basketball don’t last forever. You don’t want to waste the opportunity to be able to have a relationship with someone.”
Things certainly took a turn when the two rivals joined the same Team USA roster to help bring the Gold Medal home. Their new bond bore fruit, as success was achieved with both LeBron James and Stephen Curry delivering the most points per game during the 2024 Olympics. Unfortunately, it’s time to get back to reality, which is that the two will once again be on opposite teams when the NBA season starts in October. Unless, in the limited time that both players have remaining, another effort can be made to unite them. After all, analysts have already started to devise ways to do so.
Nick Wright proposes a three-team trade to align Stephen Curry and LeBron James “Cap-Wise, It Could”
Back in mid-August, as fans would have been simply dreaming about a LeBron James-Stephen Curry NBA team-up, First Things First reporter Nick Wright was attempting to make it a reality. In one of the segments, he went on to state “I understand it’s not going to happen, but just so everyone knows, cap-wise, it could.”
Wright highlighted a table that highlighted a scenario in which LeBron and Curry would head to the San Antonio Spurs and team up with Victor Wembanyama. In return, the Los Angeles Lakers would get Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, and two draft picks from 2027 and 2031. The Warriors would get Devin Vassel along with two additional players. Efforts also had been made earlier to bring the NBA All-Time Leading Scorer and the All-Time Leader in Three Pointers on one roster.
In February 2024, ESPN journalists Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne revealed that the Warriors made a last-minute push to acquire LeBron James. Teams’ owners, general managers, and players were equally involved. The Warriors even had Draymond Green reportedly appeal about the benefits of the trade. However, it was later revealed that LeBron James’s agent, Rich Paul, blocked the trade so that the player would avoid the subsequent ‘backlash.’ Now, with the Warriors and the Lakers facing issues with the luxury tax and the apron, no one franchise could acquire the player from another, leaving the Spurs as a proper option.