Steph, LeBron share mutual praise after first game as teammates

Share

Certain basketball experts and insiders around the league might tell you that Steph Curry and LeBron James are far from friends, after years of intense matchups in the NBA Finals and constant comparisons of their legacies.

Moments like LeBron's snarl after swatting a Steph layup attempt in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals serve as the main justification for this belief.

After years as bitter rivals, the two were teamed up for the first time in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, as James -- the top-vote getter in the Western Conference ahead of Steph -- selected Curry with his second pick in the All-Star draft.

After the two helped lead Team LeBron to a 170-150 win over Team Durant on Sunday night, James quickly took to social media postgame to shout out his first-time comrade.

Deeming Steph the greatest shooter of all time and saying he has "respect beyond words" doesn't seem like something a resentful foe would say about his fellow competitor.

Curry quickly quote-tweeted James' tweet and used the hashtag #Akron, pointing out that both superstars were born in the Ohio city.

Curry was asked postgame about his inaugural game sharing a bench with LeBron, and sent the praise right back.

"It was a great experience, we had fun in the locker room chopping it up," Curry told reporters. "Obviously the new format with the All-Star Game mixing and matching conferences even though he is in the West now, it was bound to happen and we had a great time. Obviously representing him as a captain, KD on the other side, and we got the win, so it was a memorable night for sure."

In speaking to reporters earlier in the day prior to Sunday's game, Curry spoke about his excitement for teaming up with LeBron and the rest of the eventual winning side.

"Love to get that experience having played against him for the last 12 years and obviously in the Finals with all that back and forth and All-Star Games and what not," Curry said Sunday morning to reporters. "It'll be dope to compete, go out there and try and get this win. Representing Team LeBron, it's gonna be a pretty cool experience.

"We got a stacked team. Ready to go out there and just enjoy ourselves. I get a brand new experience that me and him have never had before -- should be pretty memorable, for sure."

RELATED: Steph jokes with Miller about confidence in 3-point contest

The two even shared a great moment during the game when LeBron did his iconic chalk toss at the scorer's table, with his perceived mortal enemy standing right alongside him with a grin ear to ear.

No matter what pundits or certain CEOs of sports media companies might tell you, there doesn't seem to be much animosity between these two, at least not for tonight. 

Download and subscribe to the Dubs Talk Podcast

Contact Us