Stephen Curry, LeBron James Became Close Friends During Olympics: ‘There’s A Deepened Respect And Friendship There’

NBA stars Stephen Curry and LeBron James became close friends during the Paris Olympics. 

Curry told Natasha Dye of PEOPLE that it was a great experience playing with LeBron on Team USA. 

“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,” Curry said. “Hopefully, there will be more experiences in the future, even if we’re teammates or not.”

Team USA won the gold medal after beating France in the gold medal game. 

LeBron and Curry faced each other in four straight NBA Finals in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. They have become good friends after being rivals for many years. 

“The game of basketball don’t last forever,” LeBron told The Athletic during the Olympics. “You don’t want to waste the opportunity to be able to have a relationship with someone. … A lot of y’all maybe grew up in the Bird-Magic era and we shouldn’t like each other, but I’m also (aware) enough to know that Isiah (Thomas) and Magic hugged and kissed each other on the floor too because it was just mutual respect. They say Michael never talked to any of his opponents, but I’m also smart enough to know that him and Charles (Barkley) had a lot of conversations during the ’93 finals and also played golf against each other. So I don’t want to lose those moments (with Curry).”

LeBron and Curry have combined to win eight titles, six MVPs and five Finals MVPs. They both will be in the Hall of Fame one day. 

The Golden State Warriors tried to acquire LeBron last season, but the Los Angeles Lakers were not interested in trading LeBron, the leading scorer in NBA history. 

LeBron is arguably the greatest player in NBA history, while Curry is the best shooter of all time.