Media day at the NBA Finals includes plenty of silly questions from reporters and annoyed athletes who are trying to get through their mandatory time without saying anything too controversial. LeBron, of course, makes headlines no matter what he says and yesterday was no exception.
Throughout the ’15-16 season, one of the biggest storylines has been the brewing feud and rivalry between LeBron and Steph Curry. In early May, LBJ took a perceived slight at Curry being named the MVP and during his media session James was asked if there is any tension between him and his opponent.
LeBron first said that Steph deserved the MVP then said their rivalry isn’t even in the atmosphere of classic feuds like Carolina-Duke or Ohio State-Michigan.
Peep the exchange below via NBA.com
Q. The real one here is a couple weeks ago you were talking about the MVP, and a bunch of us in this room and across the country took it as though you were slighting Steph, and Steph replied and it made for all sorts of headlines. But beyond that, is there some sort of tension now or rivalry there between you two just because last year you were in The Finals and you’re here again?
LEBRON JAMES: First of all, I made the mistake by even answering the question because I knew where it was going to go, and I guarantee how it was phrased to Steph wasn’t how I answered the question. So obviously his reaction was what it was. And I’ve been there before as well. So Steph was definitely the MVP of our league and is the MVP in our league and is a great basketball player, and what he does for this league is amazing. Then the question was asked if I had a vote what would the difference be between most valuable and MVP, and I gave my opinion. So obviously you guys ran with it. But I don’t know. You guys make rivals. I mean, I think it’s great for the sport. It’s great for all sports. I don’t think me and Steph — when you talk about rivalries, you talk about Carolina-Duke, you talk about Ohio State-Michigan. It’s hard to say LeBron and Steph. If there’s a smaller scale or another word for a rival. The fact that we’re going back-to-back I think is pretty unique. It’s pretty unique to be in this position and just to have another opportunity, another opportunity for guys to write about it, for us to play it, for the people to talk about it throughout the world. I’m blessed that I can be a part of conversations.
