LeBron James and Stephen Curry stand tall as the two defining icons of the current generation of basketball. Their rivalry will go down in history as one of the greatest, as they faced off in four consecutive NBA Finals matchups from 2015 to 2018, going from bitter rivals to friends.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will matchup on Christmas Day, the fourth Christmas to feature LeBron and Steph facing off each other. James reflected on playing against Curry on the biggest regular season night of the season, acknowledging that this could be the last time.
“Anytime you get to go out on the court and compete against one of the greatest ever to play this game, you don’t take it for granted. I don’t know how many more opportunities we’re going to get to go against each other, so it’s always fun.”
When the Lakers and Warriors match up Wednesday, it will be the 4th time LeBron James and Stephen Curry will have played each other on Christmas. LeBron: “I don’t know how many more opportunities we’re going to get to go against each other …” pic.twitter.com/y8MCZJR1aD
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 24, 2024
LeBron and Curry have faced off on Christmas Day thrice before, with their first encounter coming in 2015 as a Finals rematch where James’ Cavaliers lost. They would rematch in 2016 as well for a repeat Finals matchup which was won by the Cavaliers. Curry would miss the 2017 Finals rematch on Christmas Day, although James did play in a loss to the Warriors.
Their last matchup was in 2018, LeBron’s first Christmas Day game as a Laker. While the Lakers won that game, LeBron unfortunately picked up a groin injury that virtually ruined the Lakers’ season and led to them missing that year’s Playoffs.
Curry averages 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on Christmas against LeBron, surprisingly never cracking the 20-point mark. James is not as effective on Christmas as compared to the rest of his career against Steph, averaging 24.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
This year’s matchup between them will be fascinating given the struggles of both their franchises this season. The Lakers are a top-six team in the West right now with a 16-13 record, but the holes on the team are evident to see and their success as a top-six seed might not be sustainable until the roster is adjusted.
The Warriors started the season hot by jumping out to a 12-3 start which has dipped around, as they’ve gone 3-10 over the last 13 games. They’re currently behind the Lakers in the standings with a 15-13 record.
Both teams are heading into this matchup coming off a loss, with the Warriors losing to the Indiana Pacers and the Lakers losing to the Detroit Pistons. Both teams will be hungry to pick up a win over a divisional rival as the result could greatly impact their position in the standings right now.
James is averaging 23.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.0 assists this season while Curry is averaging 21.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists. Both players have taken a step back from even the level they were playing at last season, but it’s amazing to see them still perform at the highest level for contending franchises.
They’re pillars of the sport and were once synonymous with the NBA on Christmas, so it’ll be nice to see them face-off in another clash, although it might not have the same malice or stakes as the previous encounters did.
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