LONDON — Much attention has been paid this spring and summer to whether LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who play on former championship teams that appear to be past their prime, are really done competing for championships.
They are not.
They are about to compete for a major championship and will do so in a unique and historic experience.
Of all the two future first-ballot Hall of Famers have accomplished — eight championships, six MVP awards, five Finals MVPs, the all-time scoring title and the all-time 3-point scoring title — winning a gold medal together for Team USA is the rare novel achievement they can both chase.
And they're really doing it together.
Team USA coach Steve Kerr made it clear Wednesday night after his team impressively dismantled Serbia, one of its top rivals at the upcoming Paris Olympics, that James and Curry will be chasing this piece of gold — perhaps the third and final for James, and potentially the first for Curry — side by side.
Kerr is committed to not only starting them, but also keeping them largely playing alongside each other.
“I like those guys together,” Kerr said, also noting that he plans to keep Joel Embiid as the starting center with James and Curry, including Saturday's exhibition game against South Sudan at the O2 Arena (3 p.m. ET).
“Steph and LeBron are learning to play together and getting to know each other better.”
In the opening seconds of Wednesday’s 105-79 win against Serbia, James started a chain of ball movements that led to a Curry 3-pointer. It was the start of Curry’s most impressive scoring streak this summer, as he hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points in a sprint over 11 minutes in the first half and finished the game with 24. He had made just 1 of 6 shots in the previous exhibition game against Australia.
“Obviously we tied [the play] “We're looking for that particular reason to get it going,” said James, who had 11 points and two assists that led to Curry's three-pointers.
“You see one go through the hoop, you see where it opens up for the rest of your game, for the rest of the game for all of us.”
“It really wasn't. [a play for me]”Curry said, correcting James. “It's a play that has multiple options and we just read what the defense does.”
So, yeah, we're still on the same page. Curry will learn that agreeing with James in the media, especially when he's talking about setting him up for success, is a smart strategy.
Overall, James has enjoyed the experience.
“It's been amazing,” James said Friday as the team practiced in the U.K. capital.
These two megastars will undoubtedly be the foundation of Team USA's bid to win its fifth consecutive gold medal. During the three warm-up games, Kerr frequently had James with the ball on the offensive end and Curry operating off of him. At times, Kerr will have another ball-handler, whether it's Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards or Jayson Tatum, with the ball while James and Curry run off-ball moves together to free each other up.
Asking any opposing team in history to take on the challenge of defending a two-man game with Curry and James is a monumental task. And Team USA is working to put its opponents in that position as much as possible.
They had exactly two weeks and only a few dozen minutes of game action to get it done, which led to some headaches and some turnovers, but the logic and effort that went into it is obvious.
Kerr has 10 years of experience working with Curry on the Golden State Warriors, but he has coached against James in five playoff series, including four straight Finals from 2014-18. The challenge of getting the best out of them by playing together and learning what it's like to coach James has been exhilarating.
“I'm impressed by LeBron's effort, concentration and focus,” Kerr said. “He's talking through every single drill. Even in a shootaround, his voice is backing up the play, shouting out what's going on, shouting out the scheme, his leadership by example. The kid is unbelievable and I mean I've known that forever, but to see it up close is pretty special.”
Kerr has tweaked his lineups, changing starters a bit each game. He has committed to making five-man lineup changes during the game to take advantage of the team’s depth. But the James-Curry combination becoming a weapon is one of the things that is etched into his lineup card, and it’s expected to remain that way as the exhibition tour shifts to London for games against South Sudan and Germany (Monday, 3 p.m. ET).
And Curry and James are also investing in Embiid, who has gotten off to a slow start. He’s shooting just 7 of 19 in three exhibition games as he tries to recover from a knee injury. But Curry and James are there, passing up their opportunities to repeatedly pass the ball to Embiid. It’s a central part of the game plan to get their center into shape before the Paris Olympics, which begin July 27 (Team USA’s first game is a day later).
It's just one of many projects the two former fierce rivals turned friendly thirtysomethings now find themselves immersed in this never-before-seen summer.
“I'm having a blast,” Embiid said. “I don't have to do anything, so I'm happy just chilling, hanging out, doing little things and then playing with them.”
