LeBron James finally joined Stephen Curry on the court during the Paris Olympics, and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer gained more than just a gold medal from the experience.
“It was everything and more,” James said Monday before the Los Angeles Lakers headed to play two preseason games against Curry’s Golden State Warriors.
“I was super excited to be able to finally team up with him in a win-or-die type atmosphere,” James added. “That’s what it was, being a part of the Olympics.
It was everything that I dreamed of and aspired to want, to be a part of that team, along with Steph. Great memories. Something that I’ll remember from my basketball career for the rest of my life, for sure.”
When James was asked if he could see himself being teammates with Curry again, he didn’t rule it out. “I have no idea,” he said.
James and Curry are considered the best players of their time and have a history of competing against each other. They faced off in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, with Curry’s Warriors winning three of those against James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.
Before the Paris Olympics, they had only been teammates during NBA All-Star games. In Paris, both veterans played key roles in helping the U.S. team win.
James recorded a triple-double against Nikola Jokic in the semifinal win over Serbia, while Curry’s late 3-pointers helped secure the gold medal against France.
The 39-year-old James mentioned this summer that the Paris Games would be his last, so if they were to play together again, it would likely need to be in the NBA. That seems unlikely, as LeBron is committed to the Lakers for two more seasons, while 36-year-old Curry is signed with Golden State for three more years.
James has expressed his desire to finish his career with the Lakers, while Curry has stated he wants to spend his entire career with the team that drafted him in 2009. Even if they never share a uniform again outside of an All-Star Game, James emphasized his respect for Curry.
“I understand what Steph has done for this game,” James said. “I understand what he’s done for his organization, what he’s done for the community, people all over the world, just by his approach to the game and how he is as a man.
When you have that type of respect for somebody and then you get to be around them every day and you see the way they work and how they treat their craft, it’s a pretty cool thing. You’re able to just respect that and not take it for granted.”
The Lakers will play against the Warriors on Tuesday night in Las Vegas and again on Friday night in San Francisco.
