“Great Dude, Great Friend, Great Competitor”: Stephen Curry Only Has Good Things To Say About His Greatest Rival

In the late 2010s, the NBA witnessed a Finals rivalry that was thought to be inevitable. Thirty teams competed throughout the season but the two teams would always clash in the battle for ultimate glory. The NBA has had a history of several legendary rivalries. The rivalry between the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers and Stephen Curry led Golden State Warriors was nothing less.

LeBron James and Stephen Curry had one of the most fierce rivalries in the late 2010s. The two were leaders of the most dominant teams in recent years, the Cavaliers and Warriors. The rivalry rekindled in 2023 when James’ Los Angeles Lakers took on Curry and the Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals. With a rivalry this fierce, one would only imagine the two would share a bitter relationship. However, the Warriors guard, Stephen Curry had an interesting answer.

Stephen Curry hails the King

Stephen Curry and LeBron James have been competing against each other for more than a decade now. However, their Finals matchups made their rivalry extremely intense. For two players that saw each other in the Finals for 4 straight years, things may not all be sweet. However, Curry dismissed any assumptions of them sharing a bitter relationship.

In a recent interview, Curry talked about his back-to-back matchups with James and the Cavaliers. “It’s going to be really hard finding two teams going four years in a row in the Finals, just the way the NBA landscape is going….That’ll go down in history as four amazing years,” he said.

Curry’s relationship with The Chosen One began long before the 9 time All Star even entered the league. James, as a fifth year player in the NBA at the time, watched Curry in action for Davidson in the NCAA tournament. 7 years after this, the two were matched up in a Finals series.

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Talking about this journey, Curry said, “It’s complex, because you go from playing in the tournament, him coming to watch me coming in as a young rookie in the league and he giving me advice on how to get through some of the early struggles I was going to go through as a player, to the four finals appearances in a row…“.

Curry also shared his personal opinion about the King, saying, “He’s a great dude, great friend, great competitor.”

The Chef had kind words for his fiercest rival, LeBron James but what makes their rivalry so intense?

Twosome Awesome

The NBA witnessed a major change in the 2014 offseason. After LeBron James’ spectacular stint in Miami, The Kid From Akron had returned to Ohio. On the other hand, The Warriors’ new head coach, Steve Kerr had brought his winningness to their franchise. Thus began one of the greatest rivalries in NBA history.

The James led Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Curry led Golden State Warriors for the next 4 years in the NBA Finals. After losing their first matchup in 2015, James put up one of the most significant playoff performances in NBA history to lead his team past the Warriors in 2016. James and the Cavaliers made a historic comeback, down 3-1 in the Finals, marking the first ever time in the Finals that a team had achieved this pinnacle.

The Warriors took the next couple of Finals matchups, thanks to their signing of former MVP, Kevin Durant. James eventually signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. However, just when the fans thought the rivalry had come to an end, the two had other plans.

James and Curry faced off yet again in a crucial play-in matchup of the Lakers and Warriors in 2021. Then came the most recent Western Conference Semifinals matchup in 2023. James took home the win on both these matchups, avenging his past troubles.

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LeBron James and Stephen Curry are absolute superstars of the game. Both have won multiple MVP awards in the past, and are 4 time champions each. The two have had an illustrious career in the NBA individually. Their off court relationship too, is pure and healthy. However, their playoff rivalry will go down in history as one of the most fierce faceoffs in the NBA.