While Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James never really had any bitter rivals during his time as a dominant force in the NBA, the future Hall-of-Famer usually commands a lot of respect from his opponents, especially toward the end of his incredible career in the league.
Although there has never been a bitter rivalry, the one player who has probably come closest to being a rival of the four-time NBA champion is Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.
Had it not been for the emergence of Curry and the three-point shooting era he started in the NBA, James’ career would have been very different, as he would likely have three more championships instead of four, putting him two short of Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Curry was recently asked to describe his relationship with James in one word, and via Sports Illustrated’s Robin Lundberg, he may have come up with the perfect word to put the relationship into perspective.
I asked Steph Curry for one word to describe his relationship with LeBron pic.twitter.com/vE4Na6z4WL
— Robin Lundberg (@robinlundberg) 21 July 2023
It’s safe to say that Curry and James have the potential to be a love-hate relationship, especially when coming from the 38-year-old forward’s perspective.
As previously mentioned, if Curry didn’t exist or failed to reach superstardom as the undisputed leader of the Warriors, James’ career would have fallen apart, and he could be the GOAT without argument with three more titles.
However, that’s not the case, and with Curry still going strong in the Bay Area, the Warriors are gearing up for another run-in with Chris Paul, a close friend of James.
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