LeBron James Says He Doesn't Have Rivalry with Stephen Curry, Warriors
No matter what LeBron James is doing, the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar can't escape questions about Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Following an All-Star Game practice session Saturday, James reiterated he doesn't view Curry as a rival in the same vein as some of the classic matchups in sports history, per ESPN.com's Chris Haynes:
"I don't have a rivalry with Steph Curry. There's no way you can say, 'Let's talk about rivalries,' and you say, '[Larry] Bird and Magic. Carolina, Duke. Ohio State, Michigan,' and then say 'LeBron and Steph.'
It's disrespectful to those other three that I just named that you would even try to put us in the class with that. We haven't had enough battles, and who's to say we will have future battles. We'll see, but to put us in a category with [them], it's impossible. You can't do it.
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Those comments are similar to statements James made last month prior to the second Cavs-Warriors game of the regular season.
"I don't think we have a rival in our game today," James said, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "We've had two great Finals appearances the last two years, but I had the same with San Antonio when I was in Miami. We weren't rivals. And I think I played those guys more, so I wouldn't look at it as rivals."
James insistence the Cavs-Warriors wasn't a rivalry drew the ire of Golden State forward Draymond Green in a TNT interview (h/t James Herbert of CBS Sports):
"I don't have much love for the Cleveland Cavaliers at all, nor do I think they have much love for us. And that's what makes it fun to play against each other. That's the true meaning of building a rivalry, which I think this has become a rivalry. And I think they'll say the same thing, and if they don't, they're blowing smoke and they're lying.
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No matter how James wants to view things, it's not a stretch to call the two teams rivals. They have met in the NBA Finals each of the past two years, with both teams winning once.
The Cavaliers and Warriors own the best records in their respective conferences at the All-Star break, and it would be a surprise if they didn't meet in the Finals again this summer. This assumes the Cavs will get Kevin Love and JR Smith back healthy before the playoffs begin.
Everything these two teams do seems to be in response to what the other has done. The Warriors lost to the Cavaliers in last year's Finals, and they signed Kevin Durant to upgrade their roster after winning a record-setting 73 games in the regular season.
The Cavaliers aren't going to add another MVP-caliber player, but they did make a shrewd move during the season to add Kyle Korver to their roster.
James may not want to hear it, but the Cavs and Warriors are a rivalry that could be on par with those he mentioned if they play another classic series in the 2017 Finals come June.
