After playing 22 NBA-Final games against each other over a span of four years from 2015 to 2018, Stephen Curry and LeBron James have made it more than clear that they prefer to see each other as teammates than rivals. Once they teamed up together with Team USA this summer, it seems like this classic rivalry will never be the same.
However, the question keeps coming up whether they will ever be teammates again, or if they are destined to retire without having another go at it. The truth is, watching them lead the U.S. men’s national team to the Olympic gold in Paris this summer felt almost too memorable to be real.
This Monday, the Lakers superstar was asked about this possibility one more time. “I have no idea,” James said bluntly. The question came just as Golden State and Los Angeles are set to face each other in two preseason clashes this week, one in Las Vegas and the second one in San Francisco.
“It was everything and more,” LeBron added. “I was super excited to be able to finally team up with him in a win-or-die type atmosphere. That’s what it was, being a part of the Olympics. It was everything that I dreamed of and aspired to want to be a part of that team, along with Steph. Great memories. Something that I’ll remember from my basketball career for the rest of my life, for sure.”
One memory that will be hard to forget, was during Team USA’s semifinal matchup against Nikola Jokic’s Serbia. The European team had them against the ropes, but the 39-year-old’s leadership and triple-double display earned them a spot in the Finals. Then, against France, Curry wiped them out with his clutch threes-pointers.
LeBron now embraces Steph’s legacy more than ever. “I understand what Steph has done for this game,” he shared. “I understand what he’s done for his organization, what he’s done for the community, people all over the world. Just by his approach to the game and how he is as a man. How he is as a family man. How he is as a husband, a dad, a son, all that stuff.
“So when you have that type of respect for somebody and then you get to be around them every day and you see the way they work and how they treat their craft, it’s a pretty cool thing. You’re able to just respect that and not take it for granted.”
While James has kept his options open, Curry has always been vocal about wanting to retire in a Warriors jersey
Now that the Golden State veteran has decided to extend his time with his team through the 2026-27 campaign, it seems that the only way he could potentially team up with LeBron would be in San Francisco. The 36-year-old has always been outspoken about his desire to hang his basketball shoes with the Warriors.
“I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” Curry told Andscape in July, just weeks before he signed a one-year contract extension with the Warriors for $62.6 million. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible.”
On a curious note, the Golden State franchise were bold enough to pursue trading for James during the last trade deadline that ended in February. As sources had told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the deal was gaining strength until owner Jeanie Buss interceded and decided it wasn’t a good deal.
Not too long ago, Curry further expressed his desire for more opportunities to share the court with James, whether as teammates or rivals. “Hopefully, there will be more experiences in the future, even if we’re teammates or not,” he added. “We still have to compete against each other until it’s all over.”
