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Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior Author
LONDON — There was plenty of consideration given this spring and summer time as as to if LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who play on former title groups that look like previous their primes, are really completed competing for championships.
They aren’t.
They’re about to compete for a significant championship and can achieve this in a one-off and historic expertise.
Of the whole lot the 2 future first-ballot Corridor of Famers have achieved — eight championships, six Most Useful Participant Awards, 5 Finals MVPs, the all-time scoring title and all-time 3-point title — profitable a gold medal collectively for Group USA is the uncommon novel achievement each can chase.
And they’re really doing it collectively.
Group USA coach Steve Kerr made it clear Wednesday evening after his staff impressively dismantled Serbia, one in every of their prime rivals within the upcoming Paris Olympics, that James and Curry are going to be chasing this piece of gold — maybe the third and final for James, and doubtlessly the primary for Curry — side-by-side.
Kerr is dedicated not solely to beginning them however holding them largely enjoying subsequent to one another.
“I like these guys collectively,” Kerr mentioned, additionally noting that he plans on holding Joel Embiid because the beginning middle with James and Curry together with Saturday’s exhibition in opposition to South Sudan at O2 Area (3 p.m. ET).
“Steph and LeBron are type of studying easy methods to play collectively and so they’re getting a greater really feel for one another.”
Within the opening seconds of Wednesday’s 105-79 victory in opposition to Serbia, James began a sequence of ball motion that led to a Curry 3-pointer. It was the start of Curry’s most spectacular burst of scoring this summer time as he drilled 4 3-pointers and scored 18 factors in a dash over 11 minutes within the first half and ended the sport with 24. He’d gone simply 1-of-6 taking pictures within the earlier exhibition recreation in opposition to Australia.
“Clearly we drew [the play] up for that exact purpose to get him going,” James, who had 11 factors and two assists that led to Curry 3-pointers, defined.
“He sees one undergo the ring, you see the place it opens up for the remainder of his recreation, for the remainder of the sport for all of us.”
“Truly, it wasn’t [a play for me],” Curry mentioned, correcting James. “It is a play that has a number of choices and we simply type of learn what the protection does.”
So, yeah, nonetheless getting on the identical web page. Curry will be taught that agreeing within the media with James, particularly when he is speaking about setting him up for achievement, is a clever technique.
General, although, James has been having fun with the expertise.
“It has been superb,” James mentioned Friday because the staff went by means of follow within the U.Okay. capital.
These two megastars are undoubtedly going to be on the core of Group USA’s try and win a fifth straight gold medal. Over the three warmup video games, Kerr often had James on the ball on the offensive finish with Curry working off of it. Typically Kerr could have one other ball handler, whether or not it is Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards or Jayson Tatum, with the ball whereas James and Curry run actions collectively off the ball to free one another.
Asking any opposing staff in historical past to handle the problem of defending a two-man recreation with Curry and James is a monumental problem. And Group USA is engaged on placing its opponents in that place as a lot as potential.
They’ve had precisely two weeks and just a few dozen minutes of recreation motion doing it, resulting in some rising pains and some turnovers, however the rationale and the trouble to place it collectively are apparent.
Kerr has 10 years of expertise working with Curry with the Golden State Warriors however has coached in opposition to James in 5 playoff sequence together with 4 consecutive Finals from 2014-18. The problem of getting the perfect out of them enjoying collectively and studying what it is like to educate James has been invigorating.
“I am simply blown away by LeBron’s effort and focus and focus,” Kerr mentioned. “On each single drill he talks. He is even in a shootaround walkthrough his voice behind the play, yelling out what’s occurring, yelling out the scheme, his management by instance. The man is unimaginable and I imply I’ve recognized that eternally, however to see it up shut is fairly particular.”
Kerr has moved his lineups round, altering starters somewhat each recreation. He has been dedicated to creating five-man lineup modifications through the recreation to benefit from the staff’s depth. However the James-Curry mixture changing into a weapon is likely one of the issues that’s etched on his lineup card, and that is anticipated to stay the case because the exhibition tour strikes to London for video games in opposition to South Sudan and Germany (Monday, 3 p.m. ET).
And Curry and James are additionally investing in Embiid, who’s off to a sluggish begin. He is taking pictures simply 7-of-19 over three exhibition video games as he tries to spherical into kind as he recovers from a knee damage. However Curry and James are there, passing up their alternatives to repeatedly feed the ball to Embiid. It is a central a part of the sport plan to get their middle into kind forward of the Paris Olympics, which tip off July 27 (Group USA’s first recreation is a day later).
It is simply one in every of many tasks the 2 former fierce rivals turned amicable thirtysomethings now discover themselves invested on this never-before-seen summer time.
“I am having the time of my life,” Embiid mentioned. “I haven’t got to do something, so I am completely happy simply chilling, simply hanging out, doing the little issues after which simply play along with them.”
