The chemistry between LeBron James and Stephen Curry as teammates for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics has led some analysts to cook up fantasy scenarios of the two all-time greats linking up in the NBA.
FS1’s Nick Wright has proposed a scenario that would send Curry and James to the San Antonio Spurs to form a Big 3 alongside second-year phenom Victor Wembanyama.
As per the trade pitch, the Lakers will receive sixth-year forward Keldon Johnson, veteran swingman Harrison Barnes and two first-round picks for parting with James. The Warriors, meanwhile, receive up-and-coming guard Devin Vassell, Zach Collins and two first-round picks, also from the Spurs.
Spurs receive: LeBron James, Steph Curry
Lakers receive: Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, Two first-round picks
Warriors receive: Devin Vassell, Zach Collins, Two first-round picks
Warriors, Lakers Not Title Contenders
Wright floated the fantasy scenario of James and Curry teaming up due to the struggles faced by the Lakers and Warriors over the past few seasons. In the 2023-24 season, the Warriors failed to qualify for the playoffs after losing a play-in game to the Kings.
The Lakers, meanwhile, lost 4-1 in the first round of the postseason to the Nuggets, a year after being swept by the Nikola Jokic-led team in the Western Conference Finals.
With neither team positioned to pursue a championship in the 2024-25 season — Lakers (+3000) and Warriors (+4000) are title underdogs — Wright explained why the time could be right for James and Curry to become teammates.
A Friendship Forged in Rivalry
Curry and James went to war in four consecutive NBA Finals between 2014 and 2018 as part of the Warriors versus Cavaliers rivalry. During that timeframe, the two living legends developed much respect for each other, as they revealed at the Paris Olympics.
“It was like a healthy resentment of somebody that’s standing in your way,” Curry said of James, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “But through it all, like there’s obviously the utmost respect for who he is as a person and a player and like how good he is and the challenge of trying to beat him and trying to solve that problem every year.”
James added that the media created a narrative that he and Curry “should hate each other” but it was vital for both stars to move beyond that as Team USA teammates.
“LeBron versus Steph, they should never smile against each other on the court. We get it,” James said, via USA Today Sports. “We understand that a lot of y’all maybe grew up in a (Larry) Bird-Magic (Johnson) era and they shouldn’t like each other, but I’m also old enough to know that Isiah (Thomas) and Magic hugged each and kissed each other on the floor too because it was just mutual respect. You know what I’m saying?”
“I’m also old enough to know that they say Michael (Jordan) 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 once against each other.”
