Golden State Warriors: LeBron James says Stephen Curry is not a rival
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is making it clear that he doesn’t see Golden State Warriors MVP guard Stephen Curry as a rival.
When two teams meet on the biggest stage in the NBA for 13 games over a two-year span, they’re going to be forever intertwined. That is the case with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. While it’s hard to call two teams from different conferences a rivalry, many feel that way considering the fact they keep meeting for the NBA Championship.
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However, Cavaliers superstar LeBron James doesn’t feel that way. When asked if he sees Stephen Curry as a rival, James told Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, that he doesn’t see the two-time MVP guard as a rival. He went as far as to call it “disrespectful” to the great rivalries between legends on the court before James and Curry ever stepped foot in the NBA.
"“I don’t have a rivalry with Steph Curry,” James said Saturday, following the East’s practice ahead of the NBA All-Star Game. “There’s no way you can say, ‘Let’s talk about rivalries,’ and you say, ‘(Larry) Bird and Magic (Johnson). Carolina and Duke. Ohio State, Michigan,’ and then say ‘LeBron and Steph.’“It’s disrespectful to those other three that I just named that you would even try to put us in the class with that. We haven’t had enough battles and who is to say we will have future battles — we’ll see. To put us in the category with (them) it’s impossible. You can’t do it.”"
If there’s one thing that James has always been consistent on during his career, it’s giving praise to the legends. While Charles Barkley might be the exception to that rule for him, he’s always stood up for the former greats of the game.
He wasn’t afraid to stand up for Charles Oakley after he was arrested at a Knicks game, and he’s always a tremendous knowledge of the game while blazing his own path. However, he may very well be right and wrong at the same time.
Curry and James both play two completely different positions and generally don’t match up against the other on the court. Now, they’re both the catalysts that make their teams go on the court and that’s where people can jump to the conclusion that they could be considered rivals.
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Two straight appearances in the NBA Finals for both teams has people feeling this is a rivalry. Both teams trash talking and taking jabs at the other makes this feel like a rivalry. If these two teams were to meet up for a third straight year in the NBA Finals, then it would be pretty hard to not consider it one.
In fact, if there is a case to be made about James having a rival on the Warriors, it will be Kevin Durant. The two met in the NBA Finals before when they were with Oklahoma City and Miami. They will also be going up against each other if both teams make it to the NBA Finals.
James has never been one for the rivals talk and he’s not about to do it here. There’s no doubt both Curry and James are tremendous leaders in their communities and are champions. Just don’t call them rivals if you’re talking to LeBron.