LeBron James still holds Stephen Curry in high regard when defending him.
James, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, noted that Curry’s core scouting report hasn’t fundamentally changed over the years because he remains the top priority on the scouting board every time a team plays the Warriors.
“It’s hard because every time you play Golden State, he’s still #1 on the scouting report, #1 and #2. It’s like you have to pick him up, you have to find him early in transition, with the ball, and even more when he’s off the ball,” James said on the Mind the Game podcast.
Even as Curry has evolved throughout his career, opposing teams still have to account for his unprecedented half-court gravity, relentless off-ball conditioning, and range from anywhere past half-court.
LeBron James Explains How Hard To Guard The Warriors With Stephen Curry
James then explained the things opposing players must think about when guarding Curry in the Warriors’ offensive schemes.
“If you pick him up too high in the backcourt, then you got to watch for Draymond because there’s going to be a pick in the backcourt, and if the big isn’t up, he’s shooting it, but there’s not much that has changed. You look at his conditioning, he’s still in super-ultra condition. If anything, would it be just the attacks at the rim maybe, like the rest of us? But he’s still super efficient. He still shoots the ball better than anybody in the league. The guy seems like he never gets tired. Not much has changed, not much has changed,” James said.
James knew this because Curry has been his biggest rival.
The LeBron-Curry rivalry was highlighted by an unprecedented four consecutive NBA Finals matchups from 2015 to 2018.
This fierce era pitted James’s brute force and elite playmaking against Curry’s revolutionary 3-point shooting and the Warriors’ lethal team chemistry. While Golden State won three of those four championship series, James cemented his legacy by leading the Cleveland Cavaliers back from a 3-1 deficit in 2016 to secure a historic title.
The rivalry evolved but remained highly competitive after James moved to the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Steph Curry Set To Tie LeBron James Record
At 38 years old, Stephen Curry made history by tying LeBron James for the most 40-point games in NBA history after turning 35, with 15 such games.
Curry’s 44-point performance in a 119-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves brought him to 15 career 40-point games post-age 35, pulling even with LeBron James at the top of the all-time list.
Through the opening games of the 2026-2027 season, Curry has maintained an elite scoring clip, averaging around 30.0 points per game in under 29 minutes per game.
Curry is also averaging 4.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting a highly efficient 42.9% from beyond the arc.
Following a rough 0-3 start, Curry has energized the team, fueling a blazing five-game winning streak to push their record to 5-3.
This year, he gets massive help from the likes of 24-year-old rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski.
LeBron James Explains How Great 38-Year-Old Stephen Curry