Siegel’s Scoop: LeBron James, Stephen Curry’s ageless perfection supersedes NBA Cup

LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been the two most popular names in the NBA for quite some time. While both legends are getting older and possibly nearing the end of the line in their Hall-of-Fame careers, the crazy thing is that LeBron and Steph continue to take their games to new heights. What we have seen from James, who is on the verge of turning 40, and Curry, who is turning 37 in March, to begin the 2024-25 season for the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, respectively, is simply expected at this point.

We have become so accustomed to seeing James’ all-around heroics and Curry putting his team on his back late in games that their perfection on the hardwood is simply just another head-shaking moment for us. The NBA Cup kicked off action on Tuesday, highlighted by Klay Thompson’s return to the Bay Area, yet it was James and Curry who once again stole the spotlight with what they have achieved on the court.

No matter how you look at it, this league still belongs to LeBron and Steph. Stars like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and others continue to shine, yet the two ageless ones in Los Angeles and San Francisco are who the fans want to see.

This rivalry turned great friendship drove ratings during the 2024 Summer Olympics when they won a gold medal for Team USA, and they are once again at the forefront of the NBA’s early-season ratings. The first night of the Emirates NBA Cup on TNT drew an average of 1.93 million viewers, up 71 percent compared to last year’s doubleheader, according to Front Office Sports.

Sure, people wanted to see Joel Embiid’s return to action against the New York Knicks, but it was the nightcap of Curry taking on Thompson in Chase Center that people wanted to see. Curry taking center stage averaged 2.14 million viewers, an 84% increase compared to the second NBA Cup game last season.

Once Tuesday’s NBA Cup games concluded, the talk wasn’t about these tournament games themselves. Instead, the focus was on Curry’s late-game shots that led the Warriors to a victory. He has done this time and time again throughout his career, yet seeing Steph hit dagger threes is something NBA fans can’t get enough of.

The following night, it was James’ turn to captivate the NBA audience. Although this wasn’t an NBA Cup game against the Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron and the Lakers still stole the night with yet another historic feat in the team’s third consecutive win.

Even with all this talk about a new era of talent ready to take over, the NBA still revolves around Curry and James.

LeBron James, Stephen Curry stole NBA Cup spotlight

In attempts to drive the league’s image and add more meaning to games played in November and December, the NBA introduced the idea of an in-season tournament last year. Given the success of this event, it was rebranded to the Emirates NBA Cup this year, with more emphasis and attention being cast on this tournament.

Tuesday marked the first NBA Cup games to be played, and the league’s attention was on Thompson’s return game against the Warriors. From his grand entrance with hundreds of Warriors employees welcoming him back to the pregame festivities where fans tipped their Captain Klay hats that they got when they walked into Chase Center, this was unlike anything we’ve seen for a player going up against his former team.

What happened on the court was even better. A back-and-forth game between the Warriors and Mavs brought us to the final few minutes of the fourth quarter with these two teams within just a handful of points of one another. Normally, this is called clutch time, but we might as well start calling it Curry time!

Over the final three minutes and 10 seconds against Dallas, Curry scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including a dagger three with 27.1 seconds left to put Golden State up four points. This is a team on a mission right now at 9-2 overall, and there are serious title aspirations growing for the Warriors.

“If he is to get that fifth ring he is searching for, it puts him in a whole different category of greatness and legendary status, more than he already has,” Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski told ClutchPoints in a recent exclusive interview. “I just think it’s so important for him, Draymond [Green], and Steve [Kerr] to get that fifth one together.

“I don’t know how many years he has left, but I know that he is going to try and do whatever he needs to in order to get that fifth ring.”

Much like how the Warriors’ goal is to win another championship, LeBron and the Lakers have high aspirations as well given their start to the 2024-25 campaign. In Los Angeles, James and the Lakers find themselves with a 7-4 record after picking up their third consecutive victory over the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

While the NBA Cup games were played on Tuesday, conversations about Curry’s performance were what dominated headlines. Less than 24 hours later, the focus shifted to James, who had become the oldest player in NBA history to record back-to-back triple-doubles. Well, LeBron was back at it again, as he led the way for the Lakers with 35 points, 14 assists, and 12 rebounds, marking his third straight triple-double. Again, he is the oldest player in league history to achieve such a feat.

It is quite amazing that James continues to play like he is just reaching the prime of his career, especially considering that he is almost 40. Time will run out eventually for LeBron, and even he will be the first to admit that his moment to call it quits is approaching.

“I’m not gonna play that much longer, to be completely honest,” James said after his third straight triple-double. “I don’t know how many years that is, whether it’s 1 year, 2 years, whatever… I said the other night that I’m not playing until the wheels fall off.”

Regardless of when James or Curry are ready to call it quits, they are still the faces of the league. Even with the NBA Cup going on, these two are the players who dominate headlines focused on the league.

Speaking of the NBA Cup, does anyone else think it is a little awkward to only play these games on Tuesdays and Fridays in November? These playoff-like games are definitely great, and the league was definitely onto something with the idea to create this tournament. At the same time, it just seems like it would make a lot more sense to play these games consecutively over the course of a week or two; that way, fans can stay engaged with what is happening. It is a little hard for many fans to keep up with the NBA Cup standings and remember when exactly the games are.

Not to mention, let’s have a little bit of sympathy for those arena workers who have to get the fresh court and all the aesthetics of the NBA Cup ready, only to take them all down for one game before putting them back up again. This event would get a lot more attention and engagement if it was all at once instead of being spread out.