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Born in the same city of Akron Ohio, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James are two of the greatest players of this generation. For four straight years in the NBA Finals Curry and James faced-off against each other in the prestigious NBA Finals. Although the two may have this personal rivalry that goes back to both of their runs in the NBA Finals from 2015-2018, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have tremendous respect for each other.
Curry Says It’s All Respect
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The Warriors suffered yet another blowout loss on Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers with the final score being 129-97. Notably, the two stars of this game, James and Curry, both finished with impressive performances. James a triple-double and Curry 27 points. It was only their 16th matchup of both of their careers, however, if you include the many times they faced each other in the playoffs, it would total to 38.
After their loss to the Lakers on Monday, Curry talked to the media in his postgame interview about his relationship with superstar James;
Respect is always there. You have a situation where it’s not just me and him. It’s obviously its team’s going at each other and your competing year after year after year, and you get to see up close and personal greatness, and I think he will say the same thing.
The two stars faced off against each other four times in the NBA Finals, which is an impressive number might I say.
Curry is arguably one of the greatest shooters of all-time if not the greatest, and James is considered the best all-around player to ever step foot on the court. It’s interesting to think that both were born in the same hospital just a few years apart and they both grew up to be absolute stars.
“There’s obviously a lot of pettiness and competitiveness, trash-talking and all that type of stuff that went on during those runs, but thats the fun of it all,” Curry also said. “Like you said, the respect level is always there, and the appreciation of competition at that level. Obviously, the goal now is to get back there.”
Even by Curry saying that they both respect each other, having the type of reputation that they both have and even playing against each other in numerous NBA Finals, it’s interesting to see narratives that spectators create just based on assumptions.
Who Is Leading in the Matchup?
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The numbers say that James does indeed hold the lead in the two’s regular-season matchups, which is 9-7 against Curry as a Warrior. However, Curry stands out in what may be considered by some more important: the postseason. Curry and his Warriors are 15-7 against LeBron in the playoffs. But LeBron has amazingly averaged 33 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 9.3 assists against Curry in the postseason. Curry just tops that with his three rings.
The Warriors and the Lakers are on different talent levels this season with the Lakers being at the top of the Western Conference and the Warriors are fighting for a playoff spot. The buildup of James and Curry’s rivalry would be nice to potentially see in the playoffs without the pressure of a title.
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