After teaming up to lead the United States to gold at the Paris Olympics, LeBron James and Stephen Curry convey an image of friendship rarely seen between two players who have starred in one of the greatest sporting rivalries in NBA history.
However, the camaraderie between King James and Chef was not always such, according to journalist Sam Amick, who added that the legendary forward’s entourage was not happy that many people labeled the point guard as the best basketball player in the league when the Golden State Warriors won three championship rings between 2015 and 2018.
LeBron James’ words to Stephen Curry after last night’s game between the Lakers and Warriors pic.twitter.com/9aDh4dVb2d
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It should be remembered that the Californians beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, then led by LeBron, in the 2015, 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals; the latter two with Kevin Durant acting as a great ally of Curry; while the team from the state of Ohio took top honors in the 2016 battle, coming back from a 1-3 deficit.
“It was really surreal for me to see Steph and Bron specifically enjoying each other as much as they did (at the Olympics), because we were in all those Finals where, I don’t care what James says now, it’s not a matter of them having animosity towards each other, but they were rivals, and their groups didn’t always like the way the other player was talked about.”Amick revealed.
The aforementioned journalist detailed the palpable tension between the current Los Angeles Lakers star, encouraged by his group of trusted people, and the Warriors icon, which could even be seen on the court.
“There were moments on the court where LeBron, with his massive size, is kind of bodying Steph and making sure the world sees him as the smaller, younger guy. So to go from that to these guys actually connecting and having such a good time together was something I never thought I’d see.”.
