Steph Curry and LeBron James meet for the fifth time in the postseason as the Golden State Warriors face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals; Curry holds a 3-1 playoff record over James after four Finals matchups during LeBron's days with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Tuesday 2 May 2023 22:41, UK
Steph Curry. LeBron James. Eight NBA Championship rings, six MVP awards and 28 All-Star appearances between them. Both chasing titles aged 35 and 38, respectively. By now, a playoff matchup sells itself.
Two era-defining icons go at it again on Tuesday night as the Golden State Warriors host the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening game of their Western Conference semi-final clash.
In Curry comes the point guard revolutionary riding the momentum of his 50-point piece to guide the Warriors to a decisive Game 7 victory over the Sacramento Kings, in the process following Michael Jordan as just the second player aged 35 or over in NBA history to register 200 points in a playoff series.
In James comes a case for all-time greatness on the back of the first 20-point, 20-rebound game of his postseason career and a fatigue, age-defying effort to lead the Lakers past the Memphis Grizzlies.
Curry and LeBron have previously met in four NBA Finals during the latter's time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Warriors man up 3-1 on those occasions; this time they face off in the first postseason game between the Lakers and Warriors since 1991, Los Angeles collecting six titles to Golden State's four in that time period.
"It is special to know from the first series we played him in Cleveland in '14-15, '14-15 season 'til now, we're blessed to be playing at this level still and excited about a new chapter," said Curry.
"Two teams trying to keep their seasons alive and chase a championship and that's what it's all about."
In 22 playoff meetings between the pair, James has registered 33 points, 11.5 rebounds and 9.2 rebounds per game, while Curry has averaged 25.4 points, 6.3 assists and 5.9 rebounds.
Curry may be as good as he has ever been, spearheading a Warriors team that looked off the pace during the regular season. James has shrugged off old jokes courtesy of Dillon Brooks and come through apparent and understandable tiredness down the stretch in games to lead a Lakers team revitalised by the trade deadline.
Warriors forward Draymond Green celebrated the latest chapter to a storyline that, regardless of age, will dominate the next round of the playoffs.
"You're talking about some ultimate competitors," Green said. "LeBron is one of the ultimate competitors. Steph, Klay Thompson, myself. And so to have these opportunities, we don't take for granted."
"Here we are eight years later from the first time we met in a playoff series and still playing at that level. That's special. Says a lot about who you are as a pro and how serious you take this, how you appreciate this game."
"This series against the Lakers is going to be epic, you've got Steph, you've got 'Bron, doing it all over again. Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast. Stop trying to turn the page on 'Bron so fast. We get so caught up in, 'What's the next thing?' that we don't appreciate the current.
"And then you get to the next thing and looking back like, 'I wish we still had that. I wish we could still see this.' So for me and our guys, we're gonna appreciate this every step of the way."
Somewhere, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is basking smugly in the thought of the pending spike in viewing figures, while elsewhere fans settle down to soak in what might prove the final playoff clash between two of their sport's greats.
