Steph Curry Talks LeBron James Rivalry: ‘There Was A Lot Of Pettiness And Resentment’ | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

As the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers prepare for their Christmas Day clash, Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry reflected on his rivalry with Lakers star forward LeBron James.

“It’s a fun fight because we’ve been doing this for so long,” Curry said during an appearance on ESPN NBA today on Tuesday. “There is more appreciation and respect than there probably was before because there was a lot of pettiness and resentment. The rivalry was real but it evolves and you still want to go at each other but the respect is there.”

Curry and James were part of the greatest rivalry of the 2010s, as the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018 before James headed to Los Angeles. Golden State was victorious three times, while James led Cleveland to its first championship in 2016.

However, the icy relationship between James and Curry has thawed with age. The two finally came together last summer when they led Team USA to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The incredible moments they shared together in Paris got many thinking about the possibility of James and Curry working together in the NBA, which Curry addressed in his April 30 interview NBA today.

“Probably not, but I think the ‘what ifs’ and all that kind of stuff, we’ll just leave it to whatever platform people want to talk about it on, we’re just kidding,” he said.

The Lakers (16-13) and Warriors (15-13) both had inconsistent starts to the 2024-25 season. Still, it’s always a pleasure to watch James and Curry go head-to-head, especially as their respective legendary careers come to an end.

The two stars will also appear alongside Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant in an “NBA OGs Convo” airing on ABC on Christmas Day.