Dec 6, 2008: Wildcats guard Stephen Curry was up against a game against the NC State at Cable Arena in Charlotte. With just a 1:21 remaining on the clock, the Wildcats were up by a point and Sophomore star had just enough time to shoot an awkward off-balance, high-arcing fadeaway to seal the game in his favor. He scored 44 points that day, and guess who was his biggest cheerleader on the courtside? A young 24-year-old LeBron James.

Coach Bob McKillop was asked who his LeBron James was. He named Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley, but noted, “But they never went to my games.” Word on Curry’s impact travelled fast, especially after his team had beaten seventh-seeded Gonzaga and second-seeded Georgetown by contributing 30 and 40 points, respectively. With early success in amateur basketball, the 2009 Dubs rookie in Stephen Curry unfortunately didn’t have much to ride on. The franchise had only made the playoffs twice in the last 15 years. And there was he again… his texting buddy, Bron.

By 2009, James was already a league icon with accolades like Rookie of the Year, five All-Star selections, and two All-Star MVP titles, and soon enough he took the rookie under his wing. In a June episode of Dell Curry’s Heat Check podcast, The Golden Boy opened up about the incidents leading up to his camaraderie with then-Cleveland Cavaliers player and recalled, “Guys were demanding trades, and there’s turmoil upstairs, in the front office. The ownership had started the selling process, and couldn’t (put) the franchise on the market for the new owner.

To say the Warriors were in a state of disarray at the time would be an understatement. With a season record of 29-53, the golden trio of Robert Rowell, Don Nelson and Chris Mullin were falling apart—accusations ran rampant that the GM was being sidelined by Rowell and Nelson. On top of that, a disgruntled Al Harrington demanded a trade if Don Nelson stayed as coach. Nelson had reportedly told Harrington “Man, nobody wanna heart that sh*t”, after the latter tried giving a pep talk to his team during a game. “Me and his relationship was never the same after that,” Harrington had reminisced.

Despite all the chaos, Curry focused on improving himself with help from King James. “I knew that there was an opportunity, but I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself to know. Like, I just had to figure out this game first, and then figure out where I fit in, where I can have value, and what type of player I’m going to be. And, I got a lot of advice from yourself (Dell Curry), some from LeBron,” Steph noted.

He continued, “Like, it was a lot of tunnel vision that happened early, just to make sure that I could, you know, position myself as a certified NBA player that’s gonna be around for a long time. And then, the rest would kind of follow from there.”

Further in the conversation, Curry recalled how LeBron would watch his college games and even invited him to his home before a game against the Cavaliers: “You want to come to the house?”. Spending time with LeBron and his young Bronny and Bryce to playing in the bowling alley, Curry didn’t just find a mentor in Bron, but also a sense of brotherhood during a challenging time.

Curry’s determination and the guidance he received from the veterans helped him grow as a player. By the 2012-13 season, the Warriors had turned a corner, making the playoffs for the first of seven consecutive years. With Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and head coach Steve Kerr by his side, Curry would go on to win four NBA championships and set several records. A decade and a half later, Stephen Curry has not forgotten the role that LeBron James played during his rookie season. This is why, even as rivals, he still maintains a healthy relationship with the player.

How does Stephen Curry define his and LeBron James’s relationship?

LeBron James and Stephen Curry have met in the finals on four separate occasions. This could have been the perfect setting for old bonds to be forgotten since no competition is more extreme than one fought during a showdown. Despite this, Curry never failed to hold a positive attitude towards his rival.

When discussing the Finals series and his clashes with LeBron in an interview with The Athletic reporter Joe Vardon, Curry stated “It was like a healthy resentment of somebody that’s standing in your way. 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”—something that James vehemently agrees with.

“The game of basketball don’t last forever. You don’t want to waste the opportunity to be able to have a relationship with someone,” he said. This mutual respect paid off in dividends as the duo, along with Kevin Durant, left competitors wide-eyed. In the team’s final match against France alone, the trio contributed 53 points in their 98-87 win.

From seeking guidance from LeBron to going toe-to-toe in the finals, Stephen Curry has certainly come a long way. Having recently won a gold medal together at the Paris Olympics, the bond between the two veterans would now be stronger than ever.