LeBron James vs. Steph Curry, better against than together

What will this Warriors-Lakers be summed up well in a post Draymond Green, the Golden State winger: “It’s going to be epic. You’ve got Steph, you’ve got Bron, they’re going to clash again in a big way.” This is why we like sport so much, because it gives us heroes to celebrate but forces us to choose which side to take. A little aged perhaps (but always decisive), Steph Curry and LeBron James face off in the NBA playoffs in San Francisco (game 1 kicks off tonight at 4 Italian time) in a challenge that has already made rivers of ink flow into prophecies. To top it off is the story: this is the first playoff meeting between Los Angeles and Golden State in 32 years (the last one was in ’91), although the Warriors have played James four times in the Finals in the last eight years, when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

However, the focus is entirely on the dualism between LeBron and Curry: one is 38 years old, the other is 35; son of working class American Bron, scion of good family Steph; champion capable of changing his tunic the first (Cleveland, Miami, Lakers), timeless flag of the Warriors the second. Curry and James each won 4 rings. LeBron played 10 Finals, Steph 6. And aside from talent, the only thing they really have in common is Akron General Medical Center, the hospital in Akron, Ohio, where they were both born.

So different as to attract each other in their magnificence. After the 2021 All-Star Game, Bron made a love-flavored tweet: “Finally got the opportunity to share the court with Steph. Been wanting this for way too long. Loved every second of it.” Curry has also made no secret of his admiration for his lifelong adversary. “LeBron is a great leader. Not just for the Cavaliers or the Lakers, but for the entire league. He’s a great example of what a professional should do,” he told Sport Illustrated. And last year, at The Shop, the talk show created and interpreted by LeBron, James made a big deal: “I want to play with Steph”. I have a dream, In short. Too bad Curry had returned the honey-flavored letter to the sender: “It’s nice, but I’m fine with it. We can all live in that fantasy world.” A typical fantasy of team sports, which fans, dream chasers, pleasure multipliers have always fed on. It’s a game we’ve all played: what if. If Maradona had played with Pele. And Jordan with Shaquille O’Neal. And Steph with James. It is a desire that speaks of us, of our impulses. “If I had to pick one player for the game-winning throw and I couldn’t pick myself, I’d pick Stephen Curry,” LeBron said.

It is precisely this desire for an impossible union that has fueled their greatness to this day. Curry with his chewed mouthguard that almost became one status symbols, and LeBron with his sharp teeth and tense muscles. Again against. We dream of them as a couple, but we enjoy them against each other. So much so that the great dualisms have always worked better. Sport, like literature, is dotted with them. Achilles and Hector. Coppi and Bartali. Steph and LeBron. Their duel is full of feeling.

James has always been a huge supporter of Curry, ever since Steph was a star at Davidson College. In 2008, he even sat ringside for one of Curry’s games against North Carolina State in downtown Charlotte. Steph was a kid, it was his college years. But he scored the decisive basket and LeBron applauded him openly. A year later, before the draft, Curry attended a summer camp hosted by LeBron James and Chris Paul. And when Curry entered the league, LeBron was one of his biggest fans. Steph has always spoken well of the opponent. He confessed to The Undefeated, “LeBron has had a huge influence on me and so many other players. His success, his longevity, his impact off the court. They’re all things to admire.”