It’s been ten years since the LeBron James–Stephen Curry rivalry truly began. Despite having two completely different playing styles, these two have produced some of the greatest basketball moments in the last decade.
As the two enter the twilight of their careers, they are set to kick off the NBA season against each other once again, as the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors on October 21. Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today, Kendrick Perkins previewed the highly anticipated game.
“You have two all-time greats that every time they step between those lines, they want to kick each other’s a**. Lebron James wants to give Steph that work, and Steph wants to give Lebron James that work. And you can go, and we can look at the numbers; it speaks for itself,” Perkins said.
The two legends of the game have faced each other 27 times in the regular season, and James’ teams have had an edge with a 14-13 record against Curry. But it is a completely different picture when it comes to the playoffs.
Curry’s teams have beaten James-led teams 17 times and lost only 11 games in the playoffs, including the NBA Finals. Every time these two take the court, attention automatically turns to these aging but uber-fit superstars.
Perkins also talked about the overall perception these two have carried and the narratives attached to both of them. The argument around the greatest player ever also plays a part in this decade-long rivalry.
“We talk about LeBron James, and rightfully so, being arguably the greatest player of all time, Steph feels like he should be in that conversation. So when they step in between those lines, it’s a brawl for it all,” Perkins added.
LeBron James Versus Stephen Curry: Head-to-Head Stat Comparison
When these two legends have gone head-to-head, LeBron James has historically edged out Stephen Curry in terms of pure stats, especially in the regular season.
James has averaged 30.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in every regular-season game against the three-point maestro. Curry, on the other hand, has 24.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.5 assists in the same games.
In the playoffs, James again beats Curry in terms of their stat sheets with the Lakers superstar almost averaging a triple-double with 33 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game.
Even though Curry’s teams have beaten James’ teams overall and in the playoffs, stats show that James has balled out whenever he sees Curry in the opposing camp.
Their rivalry also featured one of the greatest finals series in modern basketball history when the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit and won it all. It also saw the Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James era when the superstar from Akron tried to defeat a super team, basically, all by himself.
The league is doing its best to make the best of these two superstars as they enter the tail end of their glorious careers. Despite younger teams and stars popping up and taking the NBA by storm, these two legends still attract the most eyeballs and might continue to do so till they hang up their boots.
