LeBron James and Steph Curry were dominating the NBA in the 2010s and somehow it looks like they have hit another gear in 2025. It's insane to think about. Let's begin with Steph:
I, first and foremost, was one of those people who thought Steph Curry was on the decline and the days of him dropping 40+ on 10 3-pointers were behind us. According to Stat Muse, Steph Curry averaged 22.2 points per game on 44 percent shooting which is poor by his standards. He was still a good player but he wasn't Stephen Curry. A month before, he had a game where he scored just 2 points against the Memphis Grizzles on December 19. It just felt like the consistency was not there from him anymore which was understandable because not everyone will have Lebron's longevity. Then the Jimmy Butler trade happened on February 7th and everything changed. Butler made his debut on Feb 8 vs Chicago and since that moment, Steph Curry has averaged 30.6 points per game on 51% shooting and almost 43% from three with his latest game being a 56-point game in Orlando on 12-19 from 3. This made me realize it was less about Steph and more about being able to divert some attention from him as teams were triple-teaming him all game before Jimmy but now they can't do that because the Warriors have a second guy who can create his shot and draw double teams himself. The Warriors are now 7-1 in their last 8 games and climbing the standings and I promise you no one wants to see them in the playoffs.
Now to LeBron James. He was having another solid year. He was a bit more consistent than Steph as he had fewer stinkers but it was clear that though he was putting up very good numbers for a guy that was 40 years old and in year 22, he cannot impact winning like he used to. Or so I thought until the Lakers made the craziest trade in all of NBA history when they acquired Luka, and Doncic and sent AD to the Mavs. For Lebron, it is less about the raw numbers and more about all the little things he has been able to do. According to Stamuse, the Lakers rank 5th defensively since Luka has started and a big reason for that has been Lebron as he ranks 7th in defensive rating since Jan 15th, so a little bit before the Luka trade but it certainly has remained stellar or even better after Luka's arrival. With Luka being someone who can run the offense and facilitate just as well as Lebron, Lebron is now able to focus on the little things such as rebounding and defense and he will still of course put on a show offensively because he is Lebron James. His latest game was him dropping 33 points and grabbing 17 rebounds while playing great defense.
It feels like both of these guys have a team that they are 100% invested in and it is showing through their play on the court. Could we get one more classic series between the 2 of them this postseason? If it does happen it looks like it'll be a great one!
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