OAKLAND – It is so fitting that the NBA season has come down to this.
LeBron vs. Steph.
Never mind that LeBron James and Stephen Curry won’t spend these NBA Finals guarding against the other. Forget, for an instant, that it’s a team sport with no shortage of supporting cast members.
Fate, karma, luck and skill all did their part to set up the perfect climax of this NBA season – sorry, OKC – with another chapter of a rivalry for the ages.
If King James is going to deliver championship-starved Cleveland its first professional sports crown in 52 years, it would be sweeter against an outfit that left champagne stains at the Cavaliers’ home arena last year in celebrating its title.
If Curry is to lead the Golden State Warriors to the title that would further validate the greatest regular-season campaign in league history, it would be an even bigger statement against the team that comes to the Finals at full strength this time.
Yet any championship battle worth its muster deserves the marquee value provided by the type of budding rivalry that features the NBA’s two most dominating players of the moment.
James, in his sixth consecutive NBA Finals – most in a row since Bill Russell and a few of his Boston Celtics teammates made it a habit during the 1960s – has been here before.
While embodied for years as the face of the NBA, subplots engaged James, to one degree or another, against the likes of Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.
Now there’s Curry, the new face of the league – evidenced by widespread popularity that is fortified by back-to-back MVP awards, a championship – standing in James’ way to more glory.
“It’s great for our game,” James acknowledged during the buildup to Game 1. “It’s great for you as an individual, just the competitive side of it, to be able to face greats along your path is something that you’re going to wish you could get back when you’re done playing.”
Rivalries can be so fleeting, which is why the here and now is so compelling.
While trash-talk, or throwing shade, or old-fashion bulletin board material are always good to add spice to a rivalry, nothing matters like winning.
That’s why this James vs. Curry clash looms – potentially, if it lasts a bit longer -- as this generation’s Magic vs. Bird epic.
Of course, not everyone wants to buy that.
Curry is downright annoyed by talk of a rivalry against James, the four-time MVP.
“That’s not what I’m playing for, to be the face of the NBA or to be this or that or to take LeBron’s throne or whatever,” Curry contends. “You know, I’m trying to chase rings, and that’s all I’m about. So that’s where the conversation stops for me.”
Nonetheless, he can feel the alluring storyline at play.
It’s like David and Goliath all over again, with contrasts that are just as striking as the responses the principles relayed when asked about the rivalry.
James, 31, maybe the greatest all-round player in NBA history, is the powerful, 6-foot, 9-inch machine who is the essence of physical presence.
Curry, 28, is 6-3, but dominates as perhaps the greatest shooter in NBA history, with his precise techniques making his game appear to be easy (for him, not you), while also excelling as a defender and driver through the forests of NBA big men.
Two different bodies and styles, but both possessing the common denominator of winning.
LeBron or Steph? Really, it kind of that pick your poison deal.
“I think it might be easier for the common fan to relate to Steph because it’s hard to be 6-8, 260 and have a 40-inch vert and be the fastest guy on the floor,” said Warriors guard Klay Thomspon, Curry’s sharp-shooting ‘Splash Brother.’ So, I mean, the casual fan might relate better to Steph because he doesn’t have that athletic just God-given ability.”
Then again, winning comes in all shapes and sizes, as the Warriors proved in getting the best of the Cavaliers’ last season – and in the two regular-season contests this season. Dating back to Game 4 of the Finals in 2015, the Warriors have won five straight against the Cavs, including the 34-point blowout at Cleveland in January.
It’s no wonder that James has seemed obsessed for a measure of revenge – be it personal, professional or a combination of both.
A few weeks ago, when asked about Curry’s repeat MVP award, James praised the Warriors guard but also added fuel by mentioning how the “valuable” definition can be debated. When his remarks were relayed to Curry, it all generated headlines that added to the hype of the Finals rematch that is upon us now – which, of course, helps any good rivalry.
“I made the mistake by even answering the question because I knew where it was going to go,” James reflected.
As they say on the court, no harm, no foul.
Even better, James and Curry are positioned to make their cases again.
