How will LeBron James & Steph Curry put rivalry aside for Team USA at Paris 2024?
Two of the NBA’s biggest stars will be joining forces this summer in Paris, but they haven’t always had the best relationship and that’s what makes this interesting.
With the Lakers’ icon set to play alongside the Warriors’ weapon, basketball fans will be in for a treat when the Olympics get going later this month. Yet, as they well know these two have had a fierce rivalry over the years which immediately begs the question of whether they can play together.
LeBron & Steph are getting together
As you likely know by now, Los Angeles Lakers star, LeBron James, and Golden State Warriors sharpshooter, Stephen Curry, are both on Team USA’s roster for the Paris Olympics this summer. What that means is that two of the NBA’s biggest stars for the last decade are about to be playing together. Yes, it’s true that the pair have been on the same team before, playing in the All-Star Game but it would be safe to say that there is no comparison to what’s about to go down. Indeed, these two have been anything but teammates for almost a decade now, most notably when they met every year in the NBA Finals between 2015 and 2018.
Nonetheless, here we are, and based on a recent report from The Athletic it appears that as much as both men are excited about the opportunity to play together, they’ve in no way forgotten the “healthy resentment” that they had for each other during those testy times. “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.”
Interestingly, James spoke about past rivalries between NBA greats, explaining that as much as the likes of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went toe to toe, it was always based on mutual respect and not actual hatred. “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.” This is of course good news for Team USA fans who will be hoping that James and Curry can lead the nation back to the top of the basketball world, after missing out at the FIBA World Cup last year - Germany won. Stay tuned.