NBA insider Sam Amick reveals why LeBron James’ camp was upset with Stephen Curry.

Jan 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during overtime at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

These two players have transformed the way the game of basketball is played and viewed. Even in their relative hoops dotage, the Los Angeles Lakers forward and the Golden State Warriors point guard are still two of the best players in the world. This past summer, they finally joined forces to bring home a gold medal for the USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It was a moment of anticipation that many basketball fans had been eagerly awaiting. The sight of James and Curry, seemingly enjoying each other’s company, was a joyous one. This moment, while a lasting memory, also serves as a reminder of the journey that led to this point, a journey that was not always smooth between the two.

These two long-time rivals battled for NBA titles for the last decade. James and Curry did their best to eliminate each other on the court, and there were real debates on who was better than the two.

Many considered James the best, but some believed it was Curry. The Athletic’s Sam Amick appeared on colleague Tim Kawakami’s The TK Show, where Amick indicated that James’ camp was not happy to hear people calling Curry the best player in the world a few years ago.

“It was really surreal for me to watch he (Curry) and LeBron specifically just enjoy each other as much as they did (in the Olympics) because we were at all those Finals where — I don’t care what LeBron says now — it’s not a matter of them having animosity towards one another, but they were rivals,” Amick said. “Their camps didn’t always love the way that the other player was talked about.

“LeBron’s people did not love it when people started callin’ Steph the best player in the world, and there was a tension that was real. And then there were on-court moments, right, where LeBron, with his massive size, is kinda bodying Steph and making sure the world sees him as less than and kinda the small, younger guy. That dynamic was real,” Amick added. “So, to go from that to these guys genuinely clicking and havin’ such a great time together was the kind of thing I never thought I’d see.”

James and Curry met four times in the NBA Finals, with Curry capturing three and James capturing one head-to-head. Overall, they both have four titles, MVPs and All-NBA’s, and are considered some of the best basketball players of all time.

The battles against one another will go down as some of the best in NBA history. They each got the best of each other, and with every few years left in this rivalry, they will be must-see TV.