LeBron James has followed Stephen Curry all through the course of the rise of the Splash Brother, and Steph has always been appreciative.
Advertisement
As media members, we like to play up rivalries between any 2 superstars. It’s a natural thing – the more the chatter and buzz, the deeper the fan experience gets.
However, it’d take some creative narrative-spinning to foment any sort of bad blood between LeBron and Steph. Theirs is a relationship that dates back to well before Curry began his NBA career after 3 years in college.
Stephen Curry rehashes how he felt motivated when LeBron James came to watch his Davidson games
Stephen Curry was recently interviewed by GQ magazine as the subject of the cover for a recent issue. One of the aspects they explored during this sitdown was regarding Curry’s college career.
Steph led the nation in scoring during his junior year season at Davidson College. He’d previously led the nation in 3-pointers made during the 2007-08 NCAA season with 62. And it was at this time that he knew he’d make it to the league.
What sealed the deal for him on a psychological level – a sort of a vindication of his basketball journey till the time – was when LeBron James came to watch him play a college game. Steph was ecstatic at the sight of the young King – a top-2 player in the league at the time:
“I was a sophomore in college and LeBron was coming to my games! I actually still have the jersey he gave me. He signed a jersey for me. I think that was November of my junior year.”
“On my wall at my parents’ house in Charlotte, it’s still there. And he wrote it to me, called me the king of basketball in North Carolina. So I guess it’s like the corny idols-become-rivals thing.”
This story isn’t something new. Steph’s time at Davidson has been extensively covered by ESPN and other publications in detail. LeBron’s ‘mentoring’ of Curry, so to speak, was also a big story when revealed. It’s only their NBA Twitter stans who try to prop up notions of a rivalry.