Steph Curry, the star player of the Golden State Warriors, recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he shared some insights into his relationship with his longtime rival and friend, LeBron James. Curry described their relationship as “complex” due to their age difference and many years of competing against each other.
“It’s complex,” Curry said. “Because we started from playing in the same tournament and him watching, to me being a young rookie in the league and him giving me advice on how to overcome the early struggles as a player, to facing each other in four consecutive Finals, to even playing against each other in the playoffs last year. He’s a great person, a great friend, a great competitor, and it’s incredible to look back and see where it all began.”
James and Curry were famously born in the same hospital in Akron, Ohio, with an age gap of about four years. Over the past three decades, their paths have crossed numerous times. As Curry mentioned, their relationship started as a mentorship. As a rookie, Curry would even spend time at James’ house watching Family Guy.
However, as Curry emerged as an MVP and a global superstar, their relationship became more competitive. Curry’s Warriors and James’ Cavaliers faced off in the Finals four times in a row from 2015-18, with Golden State winning three championships compared to Cleveland’s one.
During a Halloween party hosted by James in 2016, after the Cavaliers’ comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals, there were cookies with the names of Curry and Klay Thompson on tombstones. There was also reportedly a dummy of Curry on the floor that guests had to step over to enter. Curry chose not to comment. In the closing seconds of Game 1 of the 2018 Finals, James blocked a layup by Curry, leading to an exchange of words between the two. In a 2019 podcast, Bill Simmons and Brian Windhorst mentioned that the rivalry between Curry and James is “real.”
However, once James joined the Lakers and they were no longer competing against each other for championships, their friendship was rekindled. They played together in the 2021 All-Star Game, praised each other in the media, and expressed the mutual respect they have had for each other over the years. It is worth noting that James notably defended Curry against former president Donald Trump on Twitter in 2017.
James and Curry have been the defining figures in basketball over the past two decades, and as long as they continue to play, there will always be a competitive aspect to their relationship. However, at its core, there will always be a deep respect and admiration for each other’s accomplishments.
