LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been giving gifts to NBA fans yearly for nearly a decade, giving the NBA world a classic every time they play. Last night was no different, as the two legends put on another fantastic showcase in a 123-116 Golden State Warriors win.
Curry ended the game with 37 points and made shots only Stephen Curry can. James finished with 33 points on just 15 shot attempts, including one thunderous dunk cutting down the lane despite being 40 years old.
Cherish every matchup these two have, as any game could be the last. Both players have shown incredible longevity, but are coming close to the end of their careers. That said, we all might get one more playoff series matchup out of this historic rivalry that started in 2015.
It didn't appear to be the case at the beginning of February. The Warriors were fighting to hold onto a play-in spot, with Curry showing some signs of potentially slowing down. Before acquiring Jimmy Butler, Curry averaged 22.7 points per game on 43/38/94 shooting splits, not usual Curry numbers.
The Los Angeles Lakers were a fine team, but they weren't a championship contender and were clearly below the contenders in the Western Conference.
Within seven days, franchises made moves to continue giving both legends a chance to compete for something meaningful late in their careers. The trade heard around the world involving Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis happened on the night of February 2nd, and the Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler five days later, on February 7th.
The Warriors, at the time, were sitting in 11th place in the West. The Lakers were 10 games over .500, fighting to get into the home-court advantage in the playoffs.
After another win for Curry and the Warriors over James, Golden State is now fifth in the Western Conference at 45-31. The Warriors have won seven of their last 10 games and have moved to an insane 19-2 record when Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry play since the Butler trade. Curry, since the Butler trade, has averaged 28.2 points on 47/41/91 shooting splits, rivaling MVP Curry's numbers.
Who sits at the fourth seed you ask?
The Los Angeles Lakers.
Steph vs. LeBron ... again
The Lakers have a one-game lead on the Warriors, but more importantly, a 1.5-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves. If the standings remain the same, Curry and James would meet yet again in the playoffs for an all-time first-round series.
A rivalry that started in 2015, that saw the two play against each other in four straight NBA Finals, and also saw the two play against each other in the NBA's first-ever play-in tournament, it feels like these two are destined to match up again this season.
With six games remaining in both the Lakers and Warriors' seasons, nothing is set in stone. The difference between the Lakers at the fourth seed and the Los Angeles Clippers at the eighth seed is just two games. All it takes is for Golden State or the Lakers to suffer a two-game losing streak, and they could fall into the play-in.
With Stephen Curry at 37 and LeBron James at 40, no one knows how many more chances the NBA world will have to see these two play each other in the playoffs—this could be the final opportunity.
We speak for all NBA fans: give us LeBron and Steph one more time in the playoffs.
For old times sake.