This era of NBA basketball was largely defined by three players: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns. Only Curry has stayed on one team throughout his career, but the battles between the three – and with two of them on the same team – never lost their intensity as Durant and LeBron switched teams.

Now, on Christmas Day 2024, the James Curry Durant era is slowly coming to an end. LeBron has spoken about retirement many times, Curry recently made his first comments on the subject, and Durant isn’t far behind. But all three are still top players on the pitch and will have another chance to prove it with all their teams on Christmas Day.

Before their Christmas games – James and Curry against each other – the three sat down for an interview in which they discussed what qualities they would like to adopt from each other via the NBA:

What characteristics would they take on from each other? 🤔

LeBron, Steph & KD… an exclusive interview with 3 NBA OGs playing this #NBAXmas on ABC and ESPN! pic.twitter.com/e0WkBLNJdf

– NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2024

James went left with Durant’s pull-up hesi. Durant arguably had the deadliest pull-up in the history of basketball, and while LeBron has always been efficient in that area, it doesn’t come close to what Durant is capable of.

From then on, Durant adopted Curry’s famous quick release. The greatest 3-point shooter of all time is best known for his ability to shoot the ball with perfect form under any pressure because of his ability to release the ball quickly. Durant would be comically unstoppable with this speed of release.

Finally, Curry captured all of LeBron’s IQ. Undoubtedly, James is one of the smartest players to ever play the game and one of the best field generals in league history. Curry can control a game with his off-ball movement and shots, but was unable to fully control the pace of all ten players like LeBron did.

The best thing about this interview is the pure respect these three players have for each other, even after over a decade of hard-fought battles on the pitch.

Stephen Curry talks about working with LeBron James

The rivalry between LeBron James and Stephen Curry has been going on for almost a decade. And now another chapter begins as the Lakers and Warriors face off on Christmas Day.

The majority of this rivalry took place when James was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and faced the Warriors in four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018. But there have also been some moments since LeBron joined the Lakers, including an incredibly violent second-round playoff game in 2023 in which the Lakers defeated Curry’s Warriors in six games.

The respect between the two has always been there, but became even more present last summer when the two were teammates on Team USA and had great chemistry as they led the team to an Olympic gold medal. This of course led many to wonder if the two would ever work together on an NBA court, but Curry said it was highly unlikely, although he didn’t necessarily say it wouldn’t happen.

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