There was a time not too long ago when LeBron James enjoyed the experience of watching a Stephen Curry shooting show in person as much as the next guy.
In March of 2008, when James was five years into his legendary NBA career and the future MVP from the Golden State Warriors was the Davidson phenom who was impossible not to appreciate, the Cleveland Cavaliers star joined his agent, Rich Paul, and others for a game against Wisconsin in Detroit that was conveniently scheduled on the same day he would play the Pistons.
Curry was the kind of talent that you wanted to see before believing, like that rock band on your bucket list. Even James wanted a front-row seat.
But those days are gone now, and James has never needed Curry to lose his Magical Little Man act more than he does in the NBA Finals. If his Cavaliers are going to pull off the seemingly-impossible, to bring half a century of sporting misery to an end in Cleveland and take James’ legacy to a whole new level, then the Cavs need Curry to struggle at the game of basketball in ways that he hardly has since being born in the Akron, Ohio hometown that they ironically share.
The version of Curry that we saw in the Cavs’ 98-95 Game 2 overtime win on Sunday night at Oracle Arena, in other words, only three more times. You had to see this to believe it too.
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