On June 19, 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors played the most significant NBA game of the century. In one corner of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, the Warriors stood 48 minutes away from the greatest year in league history, a 73-9 regular season that very nearly culminated in a second consecutive championship. In the other, the Cavaliers stood 48 minutes away from the first 3-1 Finals comeback in history and the first Cleveland championship in 52 years.
Stephen Curry was the NBA's first unanimous MVP, and with a win, he may well have wrestled the "face of the league" title away from his competitor, LeBron James, a four-time MVP attempting to make good on his promise to bring a championship to the hometown team he once left. James delivered with a 27-point triple-double. His block on Andre Iguodala with less than two minutes remaining is perhaps the greatest defensive play in NBA history. Cleveland won, 93-89. It is the game that pushed James past Michael Jordan as the greatest NBA player of all time -- at least in his own mind.
James and Curry would face each other in four consecutive NBA Finals. Years later, they would battle in one of the NBA's first-ever Play-In Tournament games and, later, a second-round postseason series. That series may not have been the rivalry's conclusion, but it was certainly the apex. And now, 10 years later to the day, James is mulling a future that may include a partnership with his former nemesis.
James, 41, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of June. While the Los Angeles Lakers are widely viewed as the favorites to retain his services, the Warriors are waiting in the wings as an aggressive suitor.
With the possibility of James and Curry, 38, finishing their legendary careers together, let's figure out what such a duo would look like. How did we get here? How could the Warriors make this happen? And how would two of the greatest players in NBA history fit together?
How long has this been in the works?
Before the 2021-22 season, James linked up with a different Hall of Fame point guard: Russell Westbrook. It went badly. The Lakers missed the playoffs, so by April, he had plenty of time to talk about teammates he'd prefer. When asked who he'd want to play with on an episode of The Shop, his choice was Curry.
"Steph Curry's the one that I wanna play with for sure, in today's game. ... I love everything about that guy," he said. "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."
Curry, preparing for a run that would culminate in the 2022 championship, certainly seemed open-minded. "Obviously, there's a curiosity," Curry said when Draymond Green pressed him on The Draymond Green Show. "Like, what would that look like?"
In 2024, the Warriors reportedly tried to make it happen. They approached the Lakers about a possible trade, with talks even reaching the ownership level. But in the end, James made it clear to the Lakers that he preferred to remain in Los Angeles and no trade happened.
Yet only months later, James and Curry did play together... for Team USA at the Olympics. The experience was an unmitigated success. Team USA won gold, James was the first-ever Olympic basketball MVP and Curry hit the biggest shots in the two closest games Team USA played against Serbia in the semifinals and France in the gold medal game. After the Olympics, James described the experience of playing with Curry as "everything and more." When he was asked whether he could envision playing with Curry again, James said, simply, "I have no idea."
Well, it's been almost two years, and now, it's finally on the table for more than just a summer. James is about to become a free agent and can sign with Golden State if he so chooses. So what needs to happen for the two to finally partner up?
How can the Warriors afford James?
The Lakers, in pure financial terms, have the overwhelming advantage at this point. They have full Bird Rights on James. They can offer him anything up to his max if they so choose. If they decide to operate above the cap, they can give James a pricey one-year deal and call it a day. If they elect to operate below the cap, they could dip into their $48 million in potential room to add another player or two and then use the rest on James. If James wants to get paid, it will almost certainly be with the Lakers.
Where things get more interesting is if the Lakers go deep into their cap space. They could throw all of their cap space at restricted free agents like Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson or Tari Eason, or perhaps make an unbalanced trade that brings in a lot more salary than it sends out. In scenarios where the Lakers prioritize adding younger external talent, James could potentially get crowded out of the balance sheet. The expectation at this point is that the Lakers will re-sign James at a respectable salary, but plans can change quickly. If the Lakers exhaust their financial flexibility elsewhere, James will have to consider other options more seriously.
This is where the Warriors potentially come into play. As of right now, they have around $21 million in room beneath the first apron. That's the key number here, because teams offering the $15 million nontaxpayer mid-level exception -- as Golden State surely would for James -- have to stay below the first apron. With only 10 roster spots currently accounted for, not including key free agent Kristaps Porziņģis, that's going to be a tall order.
Golden State has pathways to saving money if it needs to. The most obvious is Draymond Green. He has a $27.7 million player option. If necessary, the Warriors could work with him on a long-term deal that lowers his cap hit for next season, but gives him longer-term security. If the Warriors trade for another star, they will almost certainly save money in the exchange. Jimmy Butler is the 10th-highest-paid player in the NBA, so if he is used as the matching salary in a blockbuster, that obviously helps. The Warriors have been linked quite a bit to Kawhi Leonard, for instance, and Butler makes $6.5 million more than he does. In other words, the Warriors can reach the full mid-level for James if needed, though it relies on changes elsewhere on the salary sheet.
Could the Warriors go any higher for James? Probably not. In theory, they could execute a sign-and-trade, but that triggers another first-apron hard cap. Base-year compensation makes matching salary in any sign-and-trade difficult, and the Lakers aren't going to be eager to take on any of Golden State's money without significant draft compensation. James is 41. The Warriors would love to have him. They probably aren't going to break the bank to get him.
If James took the mid-level exception, it would be his lowest salary since the 2010-11 season with the Miami Heat. There is no telling if he'd be open to such an arrangement. ESPN's Anthony Slater has reported that the Warriors are currently planning their offseason around the premise that James will indeed return to the Lakers.
How would James and Curry fit together?
Pretty easily. This isn't rocket science. Put the smartest ball handler in NBA history alongside the best off-ball player in NBA history in a system designed around reading the defense, timely cutting and quick passing, and you're probably going to get something potent. Golden State scored the fifth-fewest points in the paint in the NBA last season. James still creates real rim pressure, a necessity with Butler hurt. James is no longer his peak self and Curry will probably struggle to run his nightly marathon around screens as he ages, but even these versions of them would figure to make plenty of sense together.
While James is known as a primary ball handler who's used to controlling most aspects of an offense, he's proven more than capable in other roles, suggesting he'd be comfortable in Golden State's more egalitarian system. The Lakers went 15-2 last March with James acting as a third option, primarily scoring in transition, in the post and off of cuts. James is one of the best passers out of post doubles in NBA history, and Curry's presence would make those passes even more lethal.
There's no question that James and Curry could run an effective two-man game together since James and Kyrie Irving once had one of the more lethal pick-and-roll partnerships in basketball. Playing next to Curry has helped showcase Green as one of the best short-roll passers in NBA history. James is even better, and is so threatening downhill with a 4-on-3 that, depending on who else is on the floor, he might even be able to prevent defenses from blitzing Curry off of screens. Green's weak shooting could be problematic, but he remains an elite passer and decision-maker, so getting him the ball with the defense in rotation would create plenty of good looks.
The real questions here are defensive. Green is 36. Curry (38) and James (41) are even older. Smarts can only get you so far. Athleticism and endurance are critical components of defense as well, and the Warriors would have to get the rest of the roster right. Porziņģis is not mobile at this stage of his career. Butler and Moses Moody, two of the best defenders on the team, are currently injured. Green-led defenses tend to switch as much as any in the NBA. James is perfectly suited to doing so. Though he tends to hide on lower-leverage matchups, he's still quite capable of switching onto basically anyone aside from the best ball-handlers.
A decade ago, putting James and Curry on the same team would have led to near-automatic championships. That's no longer the case. Both are still high-level players. Neither should be the centerpiece of a contender at their age. The Warriors would almost certainly have depth questions even with them. The Spurs and Thunder set an almost impossibly high bar in the Western Conference. Golden State's Expendables reboot would be a major underdog against either.
But James and Curry have already had their peaks. They've made their mark on league history. If this happens, it's not because either is desperate for another title or for any remaining glory. It would happen because they want it to happen, because two basketball geniuses near the end of their career would simply enjoy seeing what the other's presence could mean for them in their twilight. This isn't exactly likely, but as long as that flicker of interest remains, it will be possible until James signs a contract elsewhere.
