LeBron James has had more than his fair share of playoff rivals throughout his legendary 22-year career. Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics were a notable one. Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs rank highly as well. However, none of them compare to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Curry has been directly responsible for denying James three championships throughout his career. Although, the Warriors superstar certainly had more than his fair share of help for the latter two.
After James and Curry were done duking it out in the one-sided NBA Finals rivalry that featured LeBron and his Cleveland Cavaliers trying to overcome a superteam in the second half of their matchups, both players have added an NBA championship ring in paths that did not involve one another.
James and the Los Angeles Lakers tore through the NBA bubble to win it in 2020, giving LeBron his fourth ring. Meanwhile, the Warriors stunned the Boston Celtics in 2022 to also secure Curry's fourth championship, and more importantly, his first NBA Finals MVP. A path that includes a fifth championship for either one of these all-time greats has a high probability to lead through the other in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Resurgent Lakers and Warriors trending towards another matchup
The last time these generational talents met in the playoffs was back in 2023. The Lakers met the Warriors in the second round of that year's playoffs, resulting in a 4-2 series victory for Los Angeles. That head-to-head matchup had everyone's eyes fixated on it.
The Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors series averaged 7.8M viewers across ABC, ESPN and TNT, making it the most watched Conference Semifinals series in 27 years. pic.twitter.com/pJxc2dSp60
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 15, 2023
There was no opportunity to repeat that magic in 2024. The Lakers were bounced in the first round against the Denver Nuggets, while the Warriors missed the postseason altogether.
The script should be different in 2025. During a segment on Get Up for ESPN, Brian Windhorst outlined the enthusiasm coming out of both Los Angeles and Golden State right now.
Windhorst said, "[We're] hearing the same things from both of them. They're both talking with this incredible excitement about how their teams are morphing ... Steph has been totally animated ... playing with Jimmy Butler. Look at LeBron, playing with Luka [Doncic], [he's] player of the month."
The ESPN analyst also rightly pointed out how the Lakers and Warriors are sitting on the same side of the bracket for a potential second round matchup right now, with Los Angeles occupying the second seed and Golden State rising up to sixth.
The Lakers are riding a seven-game winning streak at the moment. Meanwhile, the Warriors are 8-2 during their last 10 games.
Both aging superstars are benefitting tremendously from the shakeup to their teams. It only feels right that this year's NBA Playoffs offers up another important matchup between the two NBA legends before they hang up the basketball shoes for good.
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