In March 2008, the Ford Field crowd erupted with every Stephen Curry three-pointer, but the most animated supporter sat courtside. A 23-year-old LeBron James with his trademark celebratory flair, already a three-time NBA All-Star. It was a meeting of eras: Curry, then averaging 25.9 points per game as a sophomore at Davidson, was launching his national legend by dismantling the nation’s top scoring defense, scoring 33 points to send Wisconsin packing in the Sweet 16. LeBron, a rising NBA superstar who never played college ball, had come specifically to witness the budding phenom whose underdog run was becoming college folklore. Their connection—years before four epic Finals—was being quietly stitched in real time, even if the world wouldn’t recognize its importance until much later.

In the latest episode of 360 with Speedy from Complex, a discussion emerged around Stephen Curry’s relationship with LeBron James. The Golden State Warriors star took a trip down memory lane when he was still in college and met King James. Curry reflected on these origins with rare candor and exclusive memories.

“We were playing in the… Sweet 16 against Wisconsin in 2008. And, he [Bron] came to Ford Field in Detroit and watched that game… I went off, and they, obviously, they would cut to him every time I hit a bucket. And he was doing, you know, animated celebrations and all that,” Curry shared with Speedy Morman. The locker room incident would, however, come a year later, after Curry torched NC State.

“Fast forward the following year. They were in Charlotte playing the Bobcats at the time, and we were playing like the 1 o’ clock game against NC State. And he came to the game that afternoon, sat courtside. I dropped 40 something… That’s when I first met him. I came back to the game that night, and after the game, he came out the locker room with a jersey, and he’s like the king of basketball, North Carolina,” the Warriors star guard recalled.

This exclusive honor from LeBron James serves as a counterpoint to the present swirling trade rumors linking Bron to the Warriors.

Reports indicate that Golden State has made multiple determined pushes in recent years to pry the four-time MVP away from Los Angeles, including another concerted effort after James exercised his $52.6 million option in June. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst revealed, “A handful of teams — including the Golden State Warriors, who tried to trade for James in 2023-24 — considered again whether to make an offer, sources said.”

The Warriors’ discreet yet persistent courtship continues, driven by the once-in-a-lifetime prospect of pairing Curry and James on the hardwood as teammates, not rivals. However, it’s not as if this has been a long-existing vision in the NBA community.

Let’s not forget the rivalry that existed between James’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the Steph Curry-led Warriors. Fans started to ship the two stars as a fun duo with potential for a great bond, mostly after their 2024 Olympic stint. Prior to that, even Curry himself was not so sure about the nature of his relationship with King James despite past mutual respect.

When Stephen Curry termed his relationship with LeBron James as ‘complicated’

When you think of the NBA’s most iconic matchups in recent memory, Stephen Curry and LeBron James instantly come to mind. But what fans often miss is that behind all the Finals battles and highlight reels lies a deeply layered relationship between the two superstars. In a candid conversation with Sports Illustrated in July 2023, Curry offered a rare look into that bond, calling it nothing short of “complex.”

And coming from Curry, who’s known for keeping things classy and composed, that word carries weight. “It’s complex,” he admitted. “Because you go from playing in the tournament and him coming to watch, to me coming in as a young rookie in the league and him giving me advice on how to get through some of the early struggles that I was gonna go through as a player, to the four Finals appearances in a row, playing against each other, to even last year playing in the playoffs again. He’s a great dude, great friend, great competitor, and it’s amazing to go back and look at where it all started.”

That start Curry referred to? It goes way beyond the basketball court. Both he and James were born in the same hospital in Akron, Ohio—just under four years apart. And it wasn’t long before their lives began to intersect in ways only fate could script. Early in Steph’s NBA career, he would sometimes hang out at LeBron James’ place, just watching Family Guy and soaking in whatever advice the veteran had to offer.

But of course, things evolved. As the Warriors guard’s rise turned him into a two-time MVP and a Finals fixture, the bond between them shifted gears. The friendly mentorship gradually gave way to a heated rivalry, especially during their epic Finals run from 2015 to 2018. Curry’s Warriors came out on top three times, while LeBron’s Cavaliers famously pulled off a comeback for the ages in 2016. However, after all of this, both icons stand at 4 championships each. So, would it be so crazy for them to unite for a fifth one? Well, the possibility seems thin, but never non-existent.