Giant duel in the NBA playoffs

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Curtain up for the fifth chapter. The fifth chapter of the playoff rivalry between LeBron James (38) and Stephen Curry (35), arguably the two greatest basketball players of the last 15 years. Both superstars have won the NBA championship four times to date, since 2011 there has only been one final (2021) without either of them. Now they meet in the second round of this year’s playoffs with their teams Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

The previous playoff games all took place on the largest possible stage, the NBA Finals: Between 2015 and 2018, they played four times in a row in the final for the NBA championship. Curry and his Warriors got the upper hand three times, while James, who was still under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, won the legendary 2016 Finals series. The Cavaliers then turned a 1-3 deficit into a 4-3 lead and, captained by a winged LeBron James, won the club’s first league title.

Two years and two Finals losses later, James left Cleveland for Los Angeles, where he won another championship in 2020 and broke the all-time NBA point record in 2023. On the other hand, Curry went down with the Warriors for three years before returning to the big stage in 2022 and leading his team to the title.

Curry’s historic performance in Game 7

So now their paths will cross again in the playoffs. And this despite the fact that neither the Currys Warriors nor James’ Lakers really convinced in the regular season. In the first round, the teams were considered underdogs due to their poor paper placings. Stephen Curry swept his team through the series against the Sacramento Kings averaging 34 points per game. The decisive Game 7 became the big curry show, his 50 points scored is a new record in a seventh game of the NBA playoffs.

Lebron James, on the other hand, was on the weak side against the Memphis Grizzlies, his average of 22 points per game being the third lowest in his career. But his strong performance with 20 points and 20 rebounds in the fourth game paved the way for the Lakers’ 4-2 victory.

James praises Curry

Before the first game of the series (Wednesday evening Swiss time), LeBron James spoke about the parallels between the two. “We are two of the most ambitious players who have ever played the game. We want to immortalize our names in the history books as often as possible, but everyone does it in their own way.” By that he means the different playing style of the two. LeBron is considered one of the most complete NBA players, both offensively and defensively. Meanwhile, Curry’s strengths clearly lie in distance throwing and ball control, he is considered the best three-point thrower in NBA history.

“You all saw what kind of throws he made in Game 7,” James enthuses about his opponent. “It’s normal for him because he’s just so good. I have the utmost respect for Steph and everything he’s accomplished on and off the pitch.”

But once Game 1 kicks off on Wednesday, the niceties between the Superstars are over. “It’s going to be epic!” Warriors player Draymond Green (33) is sure. Because the winner of the series not only secures a ticket for the semi-finals, but can also celebrate a victory over the eternal competitor.

Source : Blick