One of the most exciting rivalries in basketball has been the one between Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and Cleveland Cavaliers great LeBron James, now with the Los Angeles Lakers. What was then a feud has now turned in to a collaboration and alliance as they are the two main stars on Team USA during the Paris Olympics as another player who is involved in the rivalry in Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant spoke about the change in relationship.
Durant talks how James and Curry rivalry blossomed into friendship
Durant's stance on the matter was that with how James and Curry were rivals during the peaks of their careers, it has blossomed in to a great friendship. That change in relationship has been amplified tenfold as they are teammates on Team USA which Durant echoed the same sentiments as “they became better friends now” according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
“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 when talking about the relationship between James and Curry, undoubtedly one of the best two players of the 2010s. “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.”
James and Curry met consistently in the NBA Finals when the former was on the Cavaliers as they faced off against each other four times where the pressure was at its highest with the chance to win a championship. Curry would get the upper hand as a part of a powerful Warriors dynasty at 3-1, but James overcame a 3-1 series deficit in 2016 to win his first championship in Cleveland.
Stephen Curry calls feud with LeBron James a “healthy resentment”
Now they have the same goal with Team USA and it is to win the gold medal like the country did in 2021, both having a friendship that is stronger than ever before. James would even recruit Curry and others after the Olympics team did not get any medals in the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and wanted to assemble the NBA's best to bring back gold according to The Athletic.
However, when looking at the 2010s decade of basketball played in the NBA, James and Curry dominated, especially when the former was with the Miami Heat and went to four straight NBA Finals series in the early part of the decade. Curry would even say that when they were in fierce competition with one another, it was never personal as it was a “healthy resentment” that has since diminished.
“It was like a healthy resentment of somebody that’s standing in your way,” Curry said. “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.”
LeBron James speaks on friendship with Stephen Curry on Team USA
James made it sure to talk about how the rivalry between himself and Stephen Curry was only on the court and nothing else as some fans may have want it to be more since it makes it more exciting. However, the Ohio native would say that he does not want to “waste” having a friendship with someone like Curry.
“The game of basketball don’t last forever,” James said who has won three gold medals. “You don’t want to waste the opportunity to be able to have a relationship with someone.”
While there is no doubt that rivalries make any sport fun to watch, basketball has been home to some of the most exciting like how it was heated between the Lakers legend Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics great Larry Bird. James would even mention that feud and the notion of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan hating everybody, and said that there was respect at the end of the day.
“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,” James said. “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).”
Younger generation in Team USA's Tyrese Haliburton witnessing bond
Along with players like Durant, who in some ways had a friendly rivalry with James cause of his Warriors stint and being one of the top players of that era, there is a whole new generation of stars on Team USA that get to witness the great collaboration. Some of those players include Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards and especially Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton who called it “cool” since he would watch James and Curry compete “as a kid.”
“It’s just cool, I’m not going to lie,” Haliburton said via The Athletic as he is back with Team USA, previously on the team that just fell short of the bronze medal in the FIBA World Cup in 2023. “It’s pretty dope just for me, like when I was a kid, just watching those guys playing the finals every year. I think the more time I’m around them, the more I’ll hear stories and stuff, and that’ll be really cool because those are things that I probably wondered about when I was 15, 16.”
Team USA is still in exhibition play before the actual start of the Paris Olympics where they have already defeated Canada and Australia. They face Team Serbia Wednesday afternoon as their last two games of exhibition play are against South Sudan on Saturday, July 20 and against Germany on Monday, July 22.
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