In a rare and unforgettable moment, LeBron James and Stephen Curry got to join as teammates for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. James, who won the MVP of the tournament, spoke very highly of his time with Curry and mentioned how easy he made it for everyone.
“I’ve seen it before. In different uniforms. It’s good to be on his side,” James said, via Basket News. “You just marvel at his talent,” the Lakers superstar later said when he was asked about it again. “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.”
Stephen Curry isn’t an easy man to slow down. Once he’s got it going on the court, his team becomes almost impossible to beat and LeBron has experienced that first-hand. Fortunately, Curry’s heat worked to the advantage of LeBron, who was a leading face for Team USA this summer.
Of course, LeBron James and Stephen Curry have more history together than most. As two pioneers of the sport, their careers intertwined multiple times since Curry was drafted back in 2009. Their first Finals meeting was in 2015, which saw Steph and the Warriors win the title over LeBron James and the newly formed Cleveland Cavaliers.
They met in the next three straight Finals. LeBron and his Cavaliers won the matchup in 2016 before the Warriors recruited Durant to help them win in 2017 and 2018. Their latest playoff matchup was last summer when the Warriors and Lakers met in the West bracket.
With such a long history together, James and Curry are considered fierce rivals by many fans and it remains to be seen how many more battles will come before they hang it up.
Regarding this summer, however, they put their differences aside to work together for the USA. While James was already a 2x gold medal winner, Curry has never participated before and this year marked his first time going for the gold.
LeBron and Steph were the MVPs of the tournament and their chemistry on the court was impressive. James led the team in scoring this year with 14.6 points per game and also finished with the most assists at 3.8 per game. Curry wasn’t too far behind with averages of 12.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in 21.8 minutes.
Together, they led the USA to a convincing tournament win, going undefeated with wins over France, Serbia, Puerto Rico, and South Sudan, among others. In what was likely the last Olympics for James and Curry, they chose to make it count and go out as the ultimate winners.
Along the way, the NBA champions paid special attention to each other’s habits and work ethic. Predictably, the two stars share a similar level of passion and devotion to the craft which has helped them maintain excellence for the past 20 years. Now, there’s nothing but respect between them as they move toward the conclusion of their accomplished and historic careers.
