LeBron James Says He Wants to Play With Current Rival

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are taking heat for missing the playoffs for the second time in four seasons. But could James be teaming up with another future Hall of Famer very soon? In an upcoming episode of The Shop, James was asked which current NBA player he wants to team up with, which led to him saying Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. 

“In today’s game, s— there’s some m—f— in today’s game, but Steph Curry,” James said, per CBS Sports. “Steph Curry’s the one that I wanna play with for sure, in today’s game. … I love everything about that guy. Lethal. When he get out his car, you better guard him right from the moment he pulls up to the arena. … You might wanna guard him when he get out of the bed. Swear to god. He’s serious.”  

James and Curry have battled each other over the years. From 2015 to 2018, the two faced each other in the NBA Finals when James was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Curry won three of the matchups. James and Curry have played together in the past as James drafted the three-time NBA champion to his All-Star team in each of the last two seasons. 

If James and Curry were to play together, James may have to join the Warriors since he has one more year remaining on his contract while Curry signed a four-year extension last year. It’s not likely James will play in Golden State, but there could be a time when they two team up before their NBA careers come to an end. Until then, James and the Lakers will play out the rest of the season and focus on the 2022-23 campaign. Former Lakers star Magic Johnson blames James for choosing Russell Westbrook over DeMar DeRozan to join the team before the year.

“When I think about it, the blame that he’s gotta take is the fact that DeRozan ended up in Chicago and not with the Lakers,” Johnson said on ESPN’s Get Up, per Lakers Daily. “DeRozan wanted to play for the Lakers, and when I got the call from his agent, I called the Lakers, said, ‘Hey, he wants to come home.’ And DeRozan could have been a Laker instead of a Bull.”