Golden State Warriors star shares main reason why LeBron James never teamed up with Steph Curry in the NBA
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LeBron James recently explained why he decided not to team up with Steph Curry to form one of the NBA’s most powerful duos. After spending eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron left the team at the end of June and made it clear he wanted to keep playing into his 24th season—but in a new place.
At 41 years old, LeBron dismissed any talk of retiring and shared his goal of winning a fifth NBA championship. He said, “I want to join a team that shares my mindset—practicing championship habits every day and trusting the process.”
LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, talked with 27 different teams and narrowed it down to five: the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat (his old teams), the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors, and the Philadelphia 76ers. In the end, LeBron chose the 76ers. Reports say he took a huge pay cut, dropping his salary to just $3.88 million.
Fans were surprised by the idea of LeBron joining the Warriors because that would have brought together two of the biggest stars of this generation, especially after their successful run together on the U.S. Olympic basketball team. But Draymond Green, a teammate of Steph Curry’s on the Warriors, thinks LeBron’s hesitation came down to the history between them. On his podcast, Green said, “LeBron never really got over the past between us, and I get it. That was the big hurdle. It wasn’t the team or anything else—it was the history.”
Green also mentioned that some people might judge LeBron harshly if he joined the Warriors, saying things like, “You just teamed up with Steph, you had to go there.” He believes that played a big part in LeBron’s choice.
NBA reporter Anthony Slater added that LeBron might have been open to playing with Steph somewhere else, but the Warriors themselves probably weren’t an option because of that history.
LeBron is the highest-scoring player ever in the NBA and even got to play alongside his son while with the Lakers. Now, he’s aiming to build more of his legacy with the 76ers. One reason he’s hesitant to join the Warriors is because he only beat them once in the NBA Finals, while Curry and his team beat LeBron in three of his six Finals losses.
Despite their rivalry, LeBron has called the Warriors “the best team in our league” and praised Steph Curry as “one of the greatest players to ever play this game.”