Tiktukno, 15.3/Sport1
LeBron James recently celebrated his 39th birthday.
Steph Curry celebrated his 36th birthday on Thursday. But even at the height of their age, the two greatest players of the generation continue to write new chapters in their historic rivalry.
Tonight (between Saturday and Sunday) LeBron and Steph met for the 50th time in their careers - a number that well illustrates how they fight head to head for titles and prestige over the years.
For that matter, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, the duo that provided perhaps the most legendary rivalry in NBA history, only met 37 times in their careers.
And this time, as always, Steph and Barron delivered the goods.
Curry returned after three games away due to injury and scored 31 points for Golden State;
James carried the Lakers on his back in the absence of Anthony Davis who injured his eye in the first quarter, and finished with 40 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds;
And even an annoying delay in the final minutes under the auspices of too frequent monitor checks by the referees (and also a clock that broke down), was not able to spoil the festive meeting, which ended with a hug between the two, with Kerry and Golden State having the upper hand with a 121:128 victory.
"Steph is Steph, and LeBron is LeBron. Both are amazing, and it's always fun to watch them play against each other," said Steve Kerr at the end.
Will we get to see them in the same group?/GettyImages, Sean M. Haffey
The wish of many NBA fans is to see LeBron and Curry together on the same team, ride together into the sunset in the twilight of their careers, and maybe even win a championship together.
This combination only had a real chance last February, when on the last day of the trade deadline, Golden State flirted with the Lakers regarding the possibility of landing James in San Francisco.
The Lakers politely declined, but Bob Myers continues to dream.
"I fantasize about seeing LeBron and Curry together on the same team for one season. Put aside the fact that these are megastars, the two most popular players in the NBA. First of all, they complement each other perfectly," said Myers, until recently the professional manager All-rounder of the Warriors and currently a commentator on ESPN.
"They will understand each other more than anyone else, and will complement each other. LeBron as a point-forward, one of the best moralists of all time, and Steph with his incredible movement without the ball. It's a fantasy."
Draymond Green addressed the possibility of LeBron moving to Golden State a few days ago on Carmelo Anthony's podcast, saying that "It could be a huge thing. There have been some conversations about it in the past, which is pretty cool. I don't think it will actually happen, but maybe it's just because you can really digest This photo of LeBron in a Golden State uniform."
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One way or another, the Warriors are currently busy with the present, still aiming to screw in the top six in the West to get a guaranteed ticket to the playoffs.
The scenario of another meeting with the Lakers in the play-in seems quite probable, but the Warriors believe that in the last few weeks they have found a new card anyway, with Klay Thompson coming off the bench.
Tonight Thompson produced 26 points, and he continues to show a trend of improvement in his new role as the joker of the Warriors' second unit.
"When they moved Klay to the bench, at first he was too worried about how people would judge him, or what they would think of him. Now he just doesn't care, and it shows tremendous maturity," says Draymond Green about his teammate.
Clay embraces the new position, which he was not happy with at first, mainly thanks to the conversations with Steve Kerr, which restored his confidence.
"The conversations with Steve helped me relax. Instead of chasing what I did in the past, he made me appreciate what I'm doing in the present, my journey on the way to these levels. I relaxed, and I started to be myself," says Thompson.
More on the same topic:
Stephen Kerry
LeBron James
Clay Thompson