EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James finally teamed up with Stephen Curry during the Paris Olympics, and the top scorer in NBA history got more than a gold medal out of the experience.
“It was everything and more,” James said Monday before Los Angeles departed for two preseason games this week against Curry's Golden State Warriors.
“I was super excited to be able to finally team up with him in a win-or-die type atmosphere," James added. "That’s what it was, being a part of the Olympics. It was everything that I dreamed of and aspired to want, to be a part of that team, along with Steph. Great memories. Something that I’ll remember from my basketball career for the rest of my life, for sure.”
And when James was asked whether he could ever envision himself being teammates with Curry again, James didn't dismiss it out of hand.
“I have no idea,” he said.
James and Curry are arguably the best players of their era and have a history competing against one another. They met in four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-18, and Curry's Warriors won three of four over James' Cleveland Cavaliers.
They had never been teammates outside of NBA All-Star games until the Paris Olympics, when both veterans played major roles in the U.S. triumph. James recorded a triple-double against Nikola Jokic in the U.S. victory over Serbia in the semifinal, while Curry's barrage of late 3-pointers finished off France to win gold.
The 39-year-old James said this summer that the Paris Games would be his last, so any chance of playing alongside Curry again would probably have to happen in the NBA. That seems highly unlikely; LeBron is committed to the Lakers for two more seasons alongside his son, Bronny, while the 36-year-old Curry is signed with Golden State for three more seasons.
James said last season that he hopes to finish his career with the Lakers, while Curry has said he wants to spend his entire career with the team that drafted him in 2009. Even if they never wear the same uniform again outside of an All-Star Game, James reiterated his respect for Curry.
“I understand what Steph has done for this game,” James said. “I understand what he’s done for his organization, what he’s done for the community, people all over the world, just by his approach to the game and how he is as a man. ... When you have that type of respect for somebody and then you get to be around them every day and you see the way they work and how they treat their craft, it’s a pretty cool thing. You’re able to just respect that and not take it for granted.”
The Lakers face the Warriors on Tuesday night in Las Vegas and on Friday night in San Francisco.
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Greg Beacham, The Associated Press