Over the past decade, the NBA has provided its fans with relentless entertainment and immense rivalry among the teams. NBA greats like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant contributed to that. Most recently, the 3 stars sat down together and discussed their on-court battles and various topics around the NBA in a recent podcast.
Interestingly, James talked about how he was pushed to the edge of his talents by the Golden State Warriors and his rivalry with Curry. James claims that if it weren’t for the Warriors’ Curry, Durant, and Draymond Green dynasty, he would have won six titles by now. The Warriors won multiple titles during the 2017-2019 period.
Draymond, Steph, and KD… ’cause I might have six rings right now. But we’re all in a position where we felt like we lost an opportunity to have more rings because of each other. Those four straight years of Cleveland vs. Golden State, it was literally like East Coast vs West Coast.
LeBron James said via NBA OGs
At the height of their rivalry in the late 2010s, James (four-time champion) and Curry shared a similar dynamic. James and Curry were previously viewed as rivals. This was because they were the two best players of the game and the two most influential figures of the generation. But their four consecutive NBA Finals appearances between 2015 and 2018 escalated their rivalry to a full-fledged one.
He’s saying it jokingly, but we all know it’s true.
(via NBA OGs) pic.twitter.com/sYjWdAexKa
— Witness King James (@WITNESSKJ) January 16, 2025
Before he teamed with Curry and the Warriors to defeat the King, James’ fiercest rival for years was Kevin Durant. When the Warriors faced James’ Cavaliers in the 2017 and 2018 Finals, they easily defeated them because Durant made them unbeatable. There’s a fair likelihood that James would have won at least one or two more championships.
LeBron James and Co. made an honest admission regarding the upcoming generation of NBA players
Although LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant recognize that the next generation of NBA players will surpass them, they wish to support rather than undermine their successors. The trio stated in the interview with ‘NBA OGs: Friends and Rivals’ that none of them will be ‘oldhead haters’ of the future generation.
This is not going to be around forever and you’ve got to enjoy every minute because soon we’re going to be – we’re not gonna be the bitter old heads, can we all agree on that? We’re not gonna be the bitter old heads coming back hating on the younger generation. We definitely have appreciation and admiration for what they’re able to do too.
Stephen Curry via NBA OGs
Over the past few years, all three stars have lived up to this belief. Both of them are frequently complimentary, particularly to the younger generation, and one won’t hear them overtly disparaging players. James compliments of guys like Luka Doncic since 2019 are examples of this. Even Durant did the same with Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards hoping for an electric future.
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