They remain two of the NBA’s biggest stars, and whenever LeBron James and the Lakers face Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors it is must-see TV.
The Lakers and Warriors will open the regular season against each other Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, but James will not play because he’s dealing with a sciatica nerve injury on his right side.
Nevertheless, the rivalry between the Lakers and the Warriors will continue to shine.
“Obviously, going against Steph is very exciting,” Lakers star Luka Doncic said after practice Monday. “It’s going to be tough. I don’t know if it’s a rivalry, but it’s for sure an exciting game.”
When the Lakers and Warriors played on Christmas last season, James and Curry put on a show.
James had 31 points and 10 assists in the Lakers’ victory and Curry had 38 points.
The two had proved again that they can captivate sports fans.
“Lakers against Warriors has been intense,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said. “We’ve always played pretty intense games, playoff-like. So this is going to be [the same]. … So even with LeBron out, it’s going to be a great game. Of course, we got to compete and we’re trying to get this dub [win].”
The James-Curry rivalry reached its zenith from 2015-2018, when their teams met in the NBA Finals four consecutive years. James, who was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers during those years, won just one championship against Curry.
“Steph-LeBron rivalry, whatever you want to call it, matchup has always been awesome — for whatever teams they’ve been on and for the league itself,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I know we had some great games against those guys last year. Being a part of that was really cool. I think when you’re the Lakers and you play on national TV more than any other team, you’re generally going to play against great teams and that’s what tomorrow is. I think it’s just a general excitement about the start of the year. I don’t know if there’s anything extra to that.”
With James out, Doncic said there is “nothing specifically” he has to do extra.
“I just try to win every game,” Doncic said. “Obviously, it’s going to be hard with LeBron out. But when he’s ready to return, he’s going to help us a lot for sure.”
Doncic will have help from Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and the rest of the Lakers.
Curry will have help from longtime teammate Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler.
But a lot of eyes will be on Curry, someone Doncic immensely respects.
“For sure. As an opponent, obviously [it is] very hard to guard him,” Doncic said. “He’s moving all the time. He can shoot from anywhere, so I feel like it’s hard but always exciting. Going against a player like that is very exciting.”
Redick said James, who is expected to be out until November, did “individual work” during practice Monday. Redick said Lakers backup center Jaxson Hayes (right wrist contusion) was “trending” toward playing Tuesday, as was Bronny James (ankle) and Maxi Kleber (quad).
Broderick Turner is a Los Angeles Times reporter who covers the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.
