On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers took the court at Chase Center in San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors. LeBron James returned to action after missing Tuesday’s 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he engineered a 119-103 win by posting 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, including six points and five assists in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
This was the fourth and final matchup between the two teams this season. James missed the first one, which took place on opening night, and Stephen Curry missed the final three. That meant that basketball fans didn’t get to see these two all-time greats face off against each other at all this season.
James and Curry, of course, played against each other in four straight NBA Finals and are arguably the two greatest basketball players of the past dozen years. They found the time to embrace each other on Thursday.
With both of them nearing the end of their storied careers, James reflected on not getting to play against Curry, and he admitted that the future is murky for both.
“We both didn’t even realize it until, I guess, today,” James said. “… We don’t know what the future holds, and if we get the opportunity to play against each other.
“… It’s always a pleasure, and it’s always an honor just to be in his presence to be on the floor with him.”
Curry has missed most of the last 10 weeks with a knee ailment. While he’s under contract for next season and is still playing at his usual level, the Warriors’ championship window appears to be shut tight with super glue, especially after co-star Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in January.
James, of course, will be a free agent once this season ends. There is plenty of speculation about what he may do, and there are conflicting reports about whether he could be leaning toward remaining with the Lakers or departing to join another team.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James on not playing against Stephen Curry this season
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
