NBA legends LeBron James and Stephen Curry used to have a “healthy resentment” of each other.
LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers faced Curry’s Golden State Warriors in four straight NBA Finals in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“It was like a healthy resentment of somebody that’s standing in your way,” Curry told NBA reporter Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “But through it all, like there’s obviously the utmost respect for who he is as a person and a player and like how good he is and the challenge of trying to beat him and trying to solve that problem every year.”
The Warriors beat the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Cleveland won it all in 2016, becoming the first team in NBA history to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the Finals.
LeBron and Curry are teammates on Team USA. Both Hall of Famers are enjoying playing with each other for the first time.
“The game of basketball don’t last forever,” LeBron said. “You don’t want to waste the opportunity to be able to have a relationship with someone. … A lot of y’all maybe grew up in the Bird-Magic era and we shouldn’t like each other, but I’m also (aware) enough to know that Isiah (Thomas) and Magic hugged and kissed each other on the floor too because it was just mutual respect. They say Michael never talked to any of his opponents, but I’m also smart enough to know that him and Charles (Barkley) had a lot of conversations during the ’93 finals and also played golf against each other. So I don’t want to lose those moments (with Curry).”
LeBron is the leading scorer in NBA history, while Curry has made the most 3s ever.
Kevin Durant, who played with Curry on the Warriors for three years, spoke to Vardon as well about LeBron and Curry’s relationship.
“He ain’t young Steph no more, and he’s not the Bron that you were looking up to no more — you become competitors,” Durant said. “I think that respect level goes up even more. I think they became better friends now than they were when they went through that experience, competing with one another and being rivals, if you call it that. You could see that, you can see how much they respect one another.”
