To win his first NBA Finals, Stephen Curry first had to beat LeBron James.

To lead the first team in history back from a 3-1 deficit on the NBA’s biggest stage, The King had to overcome Curry and the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty.

Stephen Curry and LeBron James will finally play in the Olympics togetherCredit: Getty
In one month, James and Curry won’t just be united in the pursuit of a gold medal during the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer and the greatest shooter of all-time will share a Team USA hardwood for the first time in Paris, in the hope of guiding their country past everyone else during a period when Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Victor Wembanyama (France) highlight the rise of international basketball and a leveling out of the sport.

The 2024 USA team is already being compared to a legendary 1992 Dream Team that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

For this USA crew to win it all in Paris, James and Curry must turn their first Olympic union into a powerful reminder of their era-defining talents.

“I just expect them to be what they are: Two of the greatest players that ever touched a basketball,” Tyrese Haliburton exclusively told talkSPORT.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr expects the same from his two biggest names.

“LeBron and Steph are really excited to play together,” Kerr said.

For a variety of reasons — timing, health, personal lives, winning NBA Finals with superteams and the COVID-19 pandemic — this will be the first time that James and Curry will both represent the United States in the Olympics.

James has been to three Olympics and already has two gold medalsCredit: Getty

Curry has spent time in the Team USA program but Paris will be his first OlympicsCredit: Getty

Steve Kerr is Curry’s coach with the Warriors and now coaches James with Team USACredit: talkSPORT

James, who recently saw his son Bronny join him on the Los Angeles Lakers, represented Team USA in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and has two gold medals.

For the 36-year-old Curry, a 10-time All-NBA selection and two-time NBA MVP, Paris will represent his first Olympics.

James, 39, has increasingly hinted at retirement.

Curry is on the verge of potentially watching Klay Thompson, one half of the Warriors’ Splash Brothers, conclude a run of four NBA titles by departing in free agency.

The aim for gold in Paris is expected to become the only time that two of the best players in NBA history let go of their past battles to wear the same Olympic uniform.

Kerr is already dreaming of what it will be like when they both share the same court for the same side.

“I’ve talked to both of them about this idea of being together after going against one another with such high stakes over the years,” said Kerr, who directed Curry and the Warriors to three Finals championships against James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

“They obviously fit really well together. I think the idea of Steph playing off the ball and LeBron pushing it in transition, that’s pretty intriguing. And obviously Steph will play on the ball, as well, and LeBron has become such a good shooter.”

Kobe Bryant and James won gold together in 2008Credit: Getty

Russell Westbrook, James and Anthony Davis also won gold in London in 2012Credit: Getty

Upcoming exhibition games at the 02 in London (July 20 and 22) and a gradual build up toward Paris will allow Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and more to develop the communication and chemistry necessary to prevail this summer.

“We have a lot of great minds on the team,” Haliburton said.

“I’m the second youngest dude on the team, along with Ant. So my plan is just to pick brains as much as possible, see how these guys work, see their routines, all that stuff.”

Thanks to a surreal roster that combines the depth of 1992’s Dream Team with a small-ball modern touch, anything less than gold will be a severe disappointment for a USA squad loaded with future Hall of Famers.

Two superstars already stand out, a month before it gets real in Paris.

Two legendary basketball names that are playing together in the Olympics for the first time, after all their NBA Finals battles.

Curry and James.

James and Curry.

“They’re really excited to compete together for the first time,” Kerr said. “To find over the course of the practices and the friendlies, to find some of the nuances that they can really exploit and explore, to just to see where they can have an impact for each other.

“They’re both really, really excited about about the idea of competing together.”