With two months to go before the commencement of the 2024-25 NBA season, the schedule for the franchises was recently made public. The same revealed the upcoming Christmas game to be not only LeBron James’s 19 one but also the matchup during which he will go head-to-head against the Stephen Curry-led Golden State Warriors. With the NBA All-Time scorer currently possessing an 11-12 record against his rival, the Christmas game may be the perfect time for him to push Curry down a notch, despite the mutual bond they may have developed recently.

In a segment of ‘Spectrum Sportsnet’ published earlier today, ‘Lakers reporter’ Mike Trudell highlighted that a change may have occurred in the dynamic of both LeBron and Curry. After all, the duo were the major contributors to Team USA’s gold medal win at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with Curry emerging as the lead average scorer for his team, and LeBron as the MVP. Even though both individuals just spent the last few weeks on the same national team, any mutual respect may take a backseat when they’re pitted against each other on the domestic stage. For one NBA insider, the matchup may end up having the same potential as a Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol one.

“I, though, think that when you are wearing somebody else’s jersey, all that changes,” said Trudell in regards to the NBA rival’s mutual respect. “And, the best example of this would be Kobe Bryant absolutely running through Pau Gasol when Spain and USA played back in the Olympics.” The host later added, “I love beating my brother in anything. So even though a person that I love more than almost anybody, I want to win when he’s not on my team. And so, for me, that’s shows LeBron and Steph will line up on Christmas day, and they’ll want each other’s throats.”

In the NBA fraternity, there was never a friendship that was closer than that of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Along with being Lakers teammates for six years and winning two championships in the process, the duo even took their bond outside of the basketball court, giving each other the honorary title of ‘Hermano’ (brother). After the Black Mamba’s tragic passing back in January 2020, Gasol became somewhat of a “second father” to Kobe’s daughters, Bianca and Capri. The Spaniard even named his daughter after Gianna and named Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, as her godmother.

Despite this, the duo’s relationship did not interfere when competing against each other. Back in 2008, Kobe Bryant, who was representing the famous ‘Redeem Team’, made headlines after slamming Gasol in the chest and sending him through the ground. Kobe had himself stated before the game that he was “running through Pau’s f**ing chest.” Gasol later spoke out about the incident by stating “He just went right into the middle of my chest, tried to get right through me to send a message. Not just to me, but to his teammates to say, ‘Hey, this might be my brother. I play with him. We’re close. But I don’t care about anything else but winning.’”

Now, LeBron James and Stephen Curry have never been on the same NBA team, nor are they as close as Bryant-Gasol were. However, in a recent interview with BasketNews, the 39-year-old highlighted his admiration by stating “You just marvel at his talent,” James said. “Obviously, I’ve seen it before, you know, on the opposite side. But having him on your side, you just try to get stops and figure out other ways on the other end, but keep finding him, keep getting him the ball.” The idea of LeBron James and Stephen Curry playing together before the Olympics seemed somewhat impossible.

Now, having witnessed what the duo can achieve, not many would want them to be on separate teams. Unfortunately, when the stakes are high, the NBA players will certainly want “each other’s throats.” As it turns out, the opportunity to do so will arrive sooner than the Christmas game.

When do the Lakers play against Warriors in the 2024-25 season?

According to the schedule released by the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers have topped the list for national TV games for the upcoming NBA season with 39 matchups. The Golden State Warriors hold the second rank, with 36 games. At the moment, LeBron James and Stephen Curry are scheduled to go head-to-head in five games, with one pre-season matchup scheduled for the 19 of October, 2024. Later on, they will meet in the regular season on Christmas Day.

The schedule for the Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors looks something like this.

The Warriors may hold the advantage during the series, as 3 of the games will take place on their home turf of San Francisco. At the same time, however, the upcoming season will mark the first time in over a decade that the franchise will be playing without Stephen Curry’s fellow ‘Splash Brother’ Pau Gasol. On the Lakers side, things stand a bit unexpected as well in light of former NBA player JJ Redick becoming the new head coach. Furthermore, if things go well, then LeBron may have his eldest son and Lakers rookie, Bronny, on his side during the games.

With a significant change in circumstances on both sides, the 12-11 advantage possessed by Stephen Curry and Co. may not be a proper guarantee of what’s to come.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.