Meng Yongmin/Xinhua via Getty Images

Stephen Curry Hopes for 'More Experiences' with LeBron James as 'Teammates or Not'

Mike Chiari

After teaming with LeBron James to win Olympic gold over the summer, Stephen Curry expressed his hope that he and James will be able to share the court for more big moments in the future.

Speaking to Natasha Dye of People, Curry reflected on the Olympic experience and what it was like to finally be teammates with LeBron, saying:

"All the battles we've had on the court and the back and forth, the fact that we actually got to be teammates, not just in any game like an All-Star Game or whatever, but in high-stakes basketball with a lot on the line. ... I think there's a deepened respect and friendship there."

The Golden State Warriors star went on to add, "Hopefully, there will be more experiences in the future, even if we're teammates or not," before saying that he and James "still have to compete against each other until it's all over."

While fans have long imagined what it would be like for James and Curry to be on the same NBA team, there is no indication that it could happen any time soon, if at all.

Because of that, fans may just have to settle for Curry's Warriors and James' Los Angeles Lakers doing battle in significant Western Conference games during the upcoming season.

Both Curry and James are among the greatest players in NBA history and are future first-ballot Hall of Famers, but what makes the prospect of them on the same team so exciting is the dichotomy of their skill sets.

James is as good as they come from a playmaking perspective and one of the most physically gifted players of all time who is seemingly able to drive to the basket and score or get to the free-throw line at will.

Meanwhile, it is difficult to argue against the notion that Curry is the greatest shooter in basketball history, and he has now shown that at the NBA and international levels.

In Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics, James and Curry were chiefly responsible for Team USA's success, along with Kevin Durant.

Despite the fact that he will turn 40 years old in December, James appeared ageless, as he took over games en route to being named Olympic tournament MVP.

Curry got off to something of a slow start, but he was at his best when it mattered most in the semifinals against Serbia and in the gold medal game against France, leading Team USA in scoring with 36 and 24 points, respectively.

While it never felt like there was any bad blood between James and Curry, they were widely viewed as two of the greatest on-court rivals of the past decade by virtue of facing each other four straight years in the NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018.

Curry's Warriors beat James' Cleveland Cavaliers three times during that stretch, but LeBron managed to prevail once, bringing Cleveland its first and only NBA title in the process.

James and Curry have gotten to play more often in the regular season since LeBron made the move to sign with the Lakers and headed out west, although the importance and intensity of the matchups have not lived up to their NBA Finals clashes.

With James and Curry likely both in the twilight of their careers, teaming up doesn't feel like a plausible scenario, but there remains hope that they could potentially do battle on the playoff stage at least one more time before they call it quits.

   

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