The superstars of the NBA’s previous era are nearing the end of their careers. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is at the forefront, but Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns are still amongst the NBA’s elite players more than 15 years into their careers as well.
One thing James, Curry and Durant have in common at this stage of their careers is their desire to compete and win at the highest level. That is something that was extremely important to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as well, one of the greatest competitors the NBA has ever known. Unfortunately, the Lakers were far from competitive in the final seasons of his 20-year career and that is something Curry hopes to avoid.
In an interview with Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, Curry reiterated his desire to compete in his final NBA seasons, noting how the end of Kobe’s career became more about his individual scoring exploits as opposed to team success:
“Competitive,” Curry emphasized last week. “I’ve seen different scenarios. Like everybody talks about Kobe [Bryant] and his last years. From my vantage point, I’m comparing it to guys that only played for one franchise. Dirk [Nowitzki], Tim [Duncan], Kobe, from our era. … You don’t want to be in a situation the Lakers were in those last three years [with Bryant]. I know he came off the Achilles injury, but it was, like, they were a lottery team, and it was more just how many points can Kobe score down the stretch of his career. I don’t want to be in that scenario.”
As Curry noted, Kobe’s torn achilles completely changed everything in his final years. That was then followed by other injuries in the following years and the Lakers began turning the page towards more of a rebuild in getting ready for life after Bryant retired.
Curry is hoping to avoid that and keep winning with the Warriors, something LeBron is also trying to do with the Lakers and each franchise made huge trades at this year’s trade deadline in order to allow for that to happen.
Kobe made the best of his situation and the 60-point final game of his career will go down not just in Lakers, but in NBA history as perhaps the greatest farewell ever. But Curry still has hopes of lifting that Larry O’Brien trophy again and that is where his focus lies and will continue to.
Lakers LeBron James and Warriors Stephen Curry discuss evolution of their friendship
The rivalry between Stephen Curry and LeBron James is well documented and has continued on since the latter joined the Lakers in 2019. Playoff battles have continued, but the two teaming up for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics also brought them closer.
Both James and Curry admitted that there was a professional dislike as both were shooting for the same goals and had to get past the other to do so. But there was also always a level of respect with both acknowledging and appreciating what the other has meant in their careers.
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