You must’ve heard about that kid from Akron! The one who went on to terrorize the college basketball scene, and then made his jump to the NBA with a generational tag. The one who went on to win 4 NBA championships. Surely you thought it was LeBron James, who is synonymous with Akron, and understandably so. But Steph Curry also has his Ohio roots. Yes, him, the 3-point maestro, Stephen Curry.

At 36, Curry is a symbol of the Bay Area. No one can imagine him without the Warriors or vice versa. But recently, Curry revealed his connection with LeBron’s hometown that not many expected. In the Heat Check audiobook series, Steph and his father, Dell Curry, discuss all things basketball.

One of the episodes was dedicated solely to discussing the origin of the 10-time NBA All-Star and that’s when Dell revealed, “The dynamic of you and LeBron being in the same hospital never registered until someone said that.” In response, Curry joked, “How crazy the story is that you know, same hospital, obviously different years, some people are like joking, wonder if it’s the same nurse.” LeBron, of course, was born in 1984 in Akron and became the biggest name coming out of Ohio. Curry was also born in 1988, in the same state as Dell was playing for the Cavs then. He and Sonya Curry lived in Timbertop and one of Dell’s teammates, Brad Daugherty‘s girlfriend, helped Sonya during the labor process.

Curry went on to describe that connection between him and Ohio and said, “For some reason, Akron has this cool lore, trivia factor, that’s where it all started… he’s been living more equity in the city and spent way more time, but it is kinda funny… I definitely can claim I’m a kid from Akron too.”

Not only did these two kids from Akron go on to cement their respective legacies in the league, but they were also tied by an invisible thread of destiny that led to their first meeting on the basketball court.

Stephen Curry details his first meeting with LeBron

While LeBron James is a Clevelander through and through, Stephen Curry was on the move with his father switching teams. Steph was a part of Davidson College after graduating from Charlotte Christian High School. That’s when Curry met LeBron.

“2008 time around, first time he came to a game, so I’m in sophomore in college and he was in his 3rd or fourth year in the league at the time and he’s already got the household name, established himself like generational talent in the league. Him to take the time to come out and watch us play, then I remember the next year, my junior, when I came back, he came to a Bobcat arena, downtown or watch us play against the NC state,” Curry said. That’s not it; LeBron even invited the GSW guard after his draft.

“So I’m in the hotel, night before the game and he (LeBron) hit me, he was like you wanna come to the house and his house was in Akron. So we didn’t have a Uber at the time so I hop in a taxi, head down to LeBron’s house, hanging out with him that night,” revealed the Warriors guard.

“He’s got a bowling alley in the basement, did that. Bryce and Bronny were running around the house, little kids. That was the first time I’ve been back to Akron and it was cool… Six years later we start a crazy rivalry in finals.. Only been back twice now but there still wasn’t like any connection or realization that Akron connection at the time, and all of a sudden you get to the Finals in 2015 and that’s when I started connecting.”

Now, finally, they are teammates after years of rivalry, and the two shoulder the heaviest burden of guiding their country to the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Surely, seeing LeBron James and Steph Curry celebrating together will be a fulfilling moment for any basketball fan, but for those who know, it will be a sight of two kids from Akron living their dreams.