For the first time in their careers, Stephen Curry and LeBron James are teammates in a competitive basketball.
Team USA stars are set to begin their Olympic journey in the 2024 Paris Olympic basketball tournament, and Curry shared his thoughts on what it’s like to share the court with LeBron.
“Playing with LeBron is exactly how I imagined it,” Curry told FIBA about what it’s like to play with James. “He understands the game at such a high level. He’s an all-time great. You get guys that know how to play on the court, usually good things happen.”
“It’s fun,” Curry continued. “He’s in his 22nd year, I’m in my 16th year, and we still have the juice left to compete.”
“I know we both wanted this experience, and this is a big part of representing the USA with this specific team just because we’ve never played together, and we want to show the world we can win at the highest level.”
Curry also gave us a short recap of his FIBA achievements since his first torunament, held in 2007 in Serbia.
“The arc from the U19 World Cup in 2007, then the two World Cups in 2010 and 2014, and today, this is my first time playing in the Olympics, I’m blessed,” Curry said at the USA’s Olympic Media Day. “Playing with those guys, they are the top talent in the NBA.”
Curry has good memories of his time in the USA jersey, starting with the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2007.
He traveled with the American team to one of the traditional hotbeds of world basketball, Serbia. It was a rewarding, eye-opening experience.
“That was my first experience with USA,” Curry said.
“We landed in Belgrade, then Novi Sad in Serbia. It was a phenomenal experience until we lost in the championship game against the home team, Serbia.”
In the Final, Serbia jumped out to a 43-30 lead at half-time and won, 74-69. Mladen Jeremic had 24 points for Serbia.
“They beat us,” Curry said. “But I had a great time with guys I played in the NBA – Patrick Beverley, Johnny Flynn, Michael Beasley, DeAndre Jordan, and many others with whom I’m still in contact. And we still talk about this experience.”
3 years later, he played his first senior competition at FIBA World Championship 2010 in Turkey.
“Winning the whole thing that year, it was Kevin Durant’s coming out party,” Curry said.
“This was so much fun to watch. I did not play much that year. They only put me in when the other teams played zone to break up the defense because I can shoot. It was just great to see that level of competition as I was trying to come into my own as an NBA player.”
“It was nice to be in a position where you’re tested in a different way. We had a great team. Kevin played unbelievably that summer. Chauncey Billups, Lamar Odom, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and so many guys started their international careers that year.”
Curry did not play in the 2012 Olympics but participated in the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Spain, beating Serbia in the final game 129-92.
“Being in Spain, that was the first time where I had real responsibilities at that level,’ he said. ‘On the perimeter, I was starting with Kyrie Irving and James Harden. AD (Anthony Davis) was on that team, too.”
Harden and Davis were the only players that had suited up for the Americans at the London Games two years before.
“That was tough knowing that the 2012 Olympic team had reasserted dominance,’ Curry said. ‘We were trying to carry the torch. I had the most fun playing for Team USA that year because I had to play a lot,” Curry concluded.