Steph Curry Talks LeBron James Rivalry: ‘There was a lot of pettiness and anger’ | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

As the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers prepare for their Christmas Day matchup, Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry reflected on his rivalry with Lakers star forward LeBron James.

“It’s a fun game because of the longevity of how long we’ve been doing this,” Curry said during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA today on Tuesday. “There’s more appreciation and respect than probably back then because there was a lot of pettiness and resentment. The rivalry was real, but it evolves and you still want to go after each other, but the respect is there.”

Curry and James were part of the biggest rivalry of the 2010s, when the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018 before James left for Los Angeles. Golden State won three times while James led Cleveland to its first championship in 2016.

However, the icy relationship between James and Curry has thawed as they have gotten older. The two of them finally teamed up this past summer when they led Team USA to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The incredible moments they created together in Paris had many wondering about the possibility of James and Curry teaming up in the NBA, which Curry talked about in his interview on NBA today.

“Probably not, but I think the ‘what ifs’ and all that kind of stuff, we leave it at whatever platform people want to talk about it, we just jump,” he said.

The Lakers (16-13) and Warriors (15-13) have both endured inconsistent starts to the 2024-25 season. Still, it’s always a treat to watch James and Curry compete against each other, especially as their respective legendary careers come closer to reaching their conclusion.

The two stars will also be featured in an “NBA OGs Convo” with Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant that will air on ABC on Christmas Day.