LeBron-Steph Playoff rivalry resumes

A big part of the last decade in the National Basketball Association has been the great postseason battles between generational stars LeBron James and Steph Curry.

 

The two superstars will renew their great postseason rivalry on Tuesday night as LeBron's Los Angeles Lakers will meet Steph's Golden State Warriors in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The first game of the best of seven series will begin in San Francisco with a 9 p.m. tip off (St. Louis time).

 This will be the sixth time that James and Curry have met in the postseason. The first four meetings came in the NBA Finals when the Curry-led Warriors faced the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers four consecutive times in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The Warriors prevailed in three of those meetings to win the world championship with James and the Cavaliers winning in 2016 after coming back from a three games to one deficit to take a Game 7. The fifth postseason meeting came in 2021 in the first-ever NBA play-in tournament game when the Lakers defeated Golden State 103-100 at the then-Staples Center in Los Angeles.

 

Here is a look at the LeBron vs. Steph playoff matchups through the years.

 

2015: Golden State defeated Cleveland 4-2 to win its first NBA championship since 1975. Curry averaged 26 points a game. along with 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 38 percent shooting from 3-point range. James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists to become the first player in NBA history to lead both teams in all three categories in the finals.

 

2016: Cleveland defeated Golden State 4-3 to win the first championship in franchise history. In coming back from a 3-1 deficit, the Cavaliers also became the first road team to win a Game 7 in the NBA Finals since 1978 when the Washington Bullets defeated the Seattle Supersonics. In the seven-game series, James averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks while shooting 49 percent from the field. He was named the MVP of the Finals. Curry averaged 22.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line. Curry was the regular-season MVP of the league after leading the Warriors to a regular-season 73-9 season.

 

2017: Golden State defeated Cleveland 4-1 to win its second world championship. Curry averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 9.4 assists and 2.2 steals while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range and 89 percent from the free throw line. James averaged a triple double in the series at 33.6 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting 56 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range.

 

2018: In their fourth and final meeting between the two teams in the finals, Golden State swept Cleveland 4-0 to win its third world championship. Curry averaged 27.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range and a perfect 100 percent from the free throw line. James averaged 34 points, 8.5 rebounds and 10 assists a game while shooting 52 percent from the field.

 

2020: In the first NBA play-in game, Los Angeles defeated Golden State 103-100. James posted a triple double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, including a go-ahead 3-pointer in the game's closing seconds. 

 

 

Game 1: Los Angeles at Golden State, Tuesday, May 2, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Game 2: Los Angeles at Golden State, 7 p.m., Thursday, May 4,  (ESPN)

Game 3: Golden State at Los Angeles, Saturday, May 6, 6:30 p.m. (ABC)

Game 4: Golden State at Los Angeles, Monday, May 8, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Game 5: Los Angeles at Golden State (If Necessary), Wednesday, May 10, TBD (TNT)

Game 6: Golden State at Los Angeles (If Necessary), Friday, May 12, TBD (ESPN)

Game 7: Los Angeles at Golden State (If Necessary), Sunday, May 14, TBD