The NBA has always invested in the promotion and marketing of rivalries between teams and, most notably, players. Over the last decade-plus, one of the biggest rivalries has been between the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James and Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry. As the pair reaches the twilight of their careers, whispers are starting about a scenario where LeBron and Steph Curry pair up. After all, they were both born at the same hospital nearly four years apart.

In a recent article by Ken Makin from Andscape.com, he proposed a trade between the Lakers and Warriors where the Lakers would send James and D'Angelo Russell on his second tour back to Golden State while the Warriors would send Jonathan Kuminga, Klay Thompson, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Usman Garuba, and Trayce Jackson-Davis to LA.

Here are four reasons why a trade should be made to bring LeBron and Stephen Curry onto the same roster.

Their title window is closing

These two have competed in four NBA Finals from 2015-2018 with Curry leading the series 3-1 and having an individual record of 15-7. Of the two players,  Curry is the last to win a Championship, winning the NBA Finals in 2022 to secure his fourth title in six attempts.

James last won a Finals in 2020, his fourth in 10 attempts, and even went to the Western Conference Finals last season after besting the Warriors in six games albeit were swept by the eventual NBA Champion Denver Nuggets.

However, currently, both are on teams that are on the outside looking in the title contention race. The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference standings which would qualify them for a Play-In bid but a Finals run is unlikely to occur with this current roster. The Warriors are the 11th seed and have been mired by injuries, inconsistency, and their championship core aging out.

They are both still playing at a high level

Warriors guard Steph Curry and LeBron James

At an unprecedented level in his 21st season at age 39, James is averaging a remarkable 25 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and one steal per game with 52% field goal, 39% three-point, and 72.7% free throw percentage.

Despite even more defensive attention on him due to his supporting cast inconsistency in his 15th season, Curry is averaging 28 ppg (good for sixth in the NBA), four rpg, and five apg on 46% FG, 41 3P%, and 93.2 FT%.

With James' ageless all-around versatility and Curry's transcendent light-out shooting and ball-handling ability, this could be one of the deadliest combos to hit the hardwood despite their age.

Their play-styles are synchronous

Thanks to their amazing basketball IQ, LeBron and Steph Curry can play on and off the ball effortlessly complimenting each other's styles. Think a modern Magic Johnson (James) and Isiah Thomas (Curry) esque backcourt duo if they got to play on the 1992 Dream Team together in the present three-point shooting spacing era. They would also still have former All-Stars Andrew Wiggins, Chris Paul, and Draymond Green on the roster which is more than enough to make a potential championship run.

There is a tremendous respect between the both of them

Like the Kobe Bryant and LeBron James rivalry of the 2000s decade (1996 vs. 2003), James and Curry are more than five years apart in draft classes (2003 vs. 2009) but yet that has not stopped them from viewing one another as contemporary peers.

In a highly publicized and televised January 27 matchup between the Lakers and Warriors, the Lakers came out on top in overtime 145-144 thanks to an astronomically ridiculous 36 points-20 rebounds-12 assists triple-double stat line from James along with the two game-winning free throws.

On the opposite side, Curry recorded 46 points, three rebounds, and seven assists including a go-ahead game-tying three-point shot but unfortunately was unable to come up with a victory.

When both players were asked about the game afterward, James was quoted saying “Steph Curry keeps me young” while Curry was quoted saying “How do we keep getting better?” Coming from two players who have a huge amount of respect for one another and have won a combined six MVPs in their careers while still being elite a decade-plus into the game, you can't argue with the logic in any capacity.

Though the Lakers are in the playoff mix, they have to start thinking about the future. The Warriors on the other hand have no picks in this upcoming 2024 NBA Draft and are in cap perdition so they're looking to cash in with everyone else in the tow. Breaking up the iconic and prosperous Splash Brothers would not be easy on the fans and potentially the team chemistry but Thompson is sadly a shell of himself after all the injuries he's suffered since 2019.

With James set to turn 40 at the end of this year and Curry turning 36 next month, the window for the two superstars is dwindling but all hope is not lost because they are still top-level performers. They are slotted to play in the 2024 Summer Olympics together, an honor that Bryant and James also shared in 2008 and 2012 winning gold.

If a trade between the Lakers and Warriors never happens, at least we'll be able to see them dominate one last time in international competition in the summer on their way to a gold medal —  James' third and Curry's first — adding to the surplus of hardware the two legends have collected in their Hall of Fame careers.