Steph Curry and LeBron James have spent the last decade dueling at the highest level.
The rivalry between the two NBA legends started in the 2015 NBA Finals and has grown ever since, as has the two star's respect for one another. That respect and admiration reached a new point Sunday in Cleveland when Curry went off for 50 points and an All-Star Game record 16 3-pointers for Team LeBron. It was fitting that Curry exploded in Cleveland after getting booed by fans during introductions, and it was equally appropriate that James hit the game-winner.
To Curry, he couldn't have drawn up a better way for the night to go for the two kids from Akron, Ohio.
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“I told him on the court after the game it was kind of a perfect ending,” Curry said Sunday. “I got the MVP and played well the whole night. He hit the game-winner. All the history of our series (Cavs-Warriors) and the Akron ties, all that kind of going into it. Can’t really draw it up any other way.”
After Curry put on a show in Cleveland, James praised the Warriors superstar for his otherworldly abilities.
“Steph, come on, man, this guy is from a different planet,” James said after the game. “He literally has an automatic sniper connected to his arm, and when he lets it go, not only himself but everyone on the floor, in the stands, on TV, on their phones, think it’s going in every time. And nine times out of 10, sometimes 10 times out of 10, it does go in. So to be out there and watch that kid from Akron as well shoot the ball the way he shot it, it was unbelievable, it was pretty cool.”
The rivalry between the two biggest stars of this generation is well-documented and has played out under the brightest lights on the game's biggest stages.
Golden State Warriors
Curry and the Warriors went 3-1 against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in their four consecutive NBA Finals matchups. But James' one victory, the comeback in the 2016 NBA Finals, is one of the rare blemishes on Curry's sparkling Hall of Fame resume.
As the Curry-Kevin Durant Warriors' reign ended, James packed his bags for Los Angeles, joining the Lakers and upping the ante in the rivalry with Curry and the Warriors. But just as James arrived in Los Angeles, the Warriors dipped, having to recalibrate their dynasty after Durant's exit and Klay Thompson's injuries. James and the Lakers won an NBA title in the bubble while the Warriors watched from home. Then, James and the Lakers defeated Curry and the Warriors in the play-in tournament last season on a deep 3-pointer from LeBron.
With Thompson returning this season and Russell Westbrook joining the Lakers, most expected the Warriors and Lakers to finally give the fans the California rivalry they have been wanting. But the Westbrook experiment has been a flop, and Anthony Davis' inability to stay healthy has the Lakers fighting for a play-in spot while the Warriors own the second-best record in the NBA.
This, of course, is setting up for another epic chapter in the James-Curry rivalry. Should the Warriors hold off the Memphis Grizzlies and earn the No. 2 seed, they very well could face James and the Lakers in the first round if James and Westbrook can keep the ship afloat while Davis rehabs a mid-foot sprain.
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Even if James' Lakers tenure is on its last legs, he and Curry will likely have a few more memorable high-stakes battles before King James call it quits. If James leaves LA, he'll go somewhere he believes he can win. Curry and the Warriors should be one of the West's top teams for the next handful of seasons.
Curry and the Warriors kept James from stacking titles when he was at the height of his powers. LeBron made sure Curry and the Warriors couldn't put an exclamation point on their historic 73-win season with an NBA title.
The two faces of the NBA aren't ready to cede the spotlight yet. They are forever linked in NBA history. And after almost a decade of duels, they wouldn't have it any other way.