From fans to friends to foes, LeBron James and Steph Curry

Steph Curry was a𝖓azed that LeBron James came to see him play in college 15 years ago. Their fig𝖓t for NBA titles has now begun.

On the way to Ford Field by bus, the excitement started to build.

One of Stephen Curry’s basketball idols might show up to their Sweet 16 game that night, which made him and some of his Davidson friends very excited.

Before that week, LeBron James shocked the Davidson players by saying that he had been following their unlikely run to the NCAA tournament in 2008 and was a fan of the baby-faced junior who was leading the team. James told reporters that Curry was a “very, very, very, very, very good basketball player” because of how well he played in front of the crowd.

No one at Davidson thought that James might want to see Curry in person until they learned that the Cleveland Cavaliers would also be in Detroit the next night to play the Pistons. Next, word came that Nike had sent enough red-and-white “Witness” T-shirts to fill out the student section at Davidson. There were also rumors that people working for James had called Davidson’s sports department to ask for game tickets.

As the game was about to start, Davidson players with sharp eyes saw some fans behind their bench start to turn their heads. James was surrounded by his friends. He was wearing a Nike T-shirt and a brown zip-up jacket.

“Steph was thrilled. He told Yahoo Sports, “We all got excited.” Andrew Lovedale used to play forward for Davidson. “We were kids.” We went to this small school for college. And here was this great NBA player. “Wow, LeBron is coming to watch us play basketball,” we thought.

Before their unmatched skills, ability to sell tickets, and desire for wins created the rivalry that has defined the NBA for the past ten years, James was one of Curry’s first well-known supporters. Two times, he went out of his way to come see the special talent play for Davidson in person, and he showed real appreciation for the amazing scoring feats he saw.

While they were together, Curry and James traded phone numbers, starting a friendship that has survived four NBA Finals and their present matchup in the Western Conference semifinals. A gift that Curry got from James while he was a junior at Davidson is still ha𝖓ging in his childhood bedroom in Charlotte: The number 23 shirt is signed and has the words “To S. Curry, The Best Player in N.C.” written on it.

“He signed it, and I kept it,” Curry said on an episode of “The Old Man and The Three” with JJ Redick in November of last year.

“Just thinking about the trip since then makes me feel c𝖓azy.” “Who would have thought?”