LOS ANGELES \u2014 Considering how their seasons have ebbed and flowed so far, and the history between the stars leading their teams, it\u2019s only appropriate that the Lakers and Golden State Warriors match up for a Christmas Day showdown on Wednesday at Chase Center.<\/p>\n
Just a month ago, the Lakers and Warriors were sitting near the top of the Western Conference standings, opening the season with 10-5 and 12-3 records, respectively, entering Nov. 23.<\/p>\n
How much a month can change things.<\/p>\n
The Lakers (16-13) have gone 6-8 since then after dropping Monday\u2019s home game to the Detroit Pistons to end their three-game winning streak.<\/p>\n
And the Warriors (15-13) have been even worse, winning just three of their last 13 games after starting the year at the top of the conference.<\/p>\n
But Wednesday will be another matchup between Lakers star LeBron James and Warriors star Steph Curry \u2013 two all-time greats whose careers have intersected to the point they\u2019re considered by many to have one of the defining rivalries of the league\u2019s modern era.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you get an opportunity to be on the court and compete versus one of the greats to ever play this game, you never take it for granted,\u201d James said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how many more opportunities we\u2019re gonna get to go against each other, so it\u2019s always fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday will also mark the second time the Lakers and Warriors have played each other on Christmas in the past seven years, with the Lakers beating the Warriors on Dec. 25, 2018, in James\u2019 first season with the Lakers.<\/p>\n
In addition to the 2018 matchup, James\u2019 and Curry\u2019s teams squared off on Christmas for three consecutive seasons (2015-17) when James was on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry didn\u2019t play in the 2017 game.<\/p>\n
But matchups between James and Curry have historically had more at stake than Christmas Day game bragging rights.<\/p>\n
Their teams matched up in four consecutive NBA Finals (2015-18), with Curry\u2019s Warriors winning the championship in 2015, \u201817 and \u201818 and James\u2019 Cavaliers coming out on top in \u201916 after coming back from a 3-1 series.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, as a fan, it was an awesome stretch,\u201d Lakers coach JJ Redick said. \u201cFor me as a player, it wasn\u2019t a great stretch because I wasn\u2019t in those Finals. But it was great to have two of the icons of this generation go head to head and have some for sure classic series and then just also some classic games and classic moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the history of the NBA, player and team rivalries have been good for the league and that sort of captured a moment in our generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lakers and Warriors also played each other in the 2021 Play-In Tournament and the second round of the 2023 playoffs, with the Lakers winning both matchups<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be good,\u201d Anthony Davis said. \u201cWe always have battles with them, we\u2019ve seen them in the playoffs a couple of years. It\u2019s going to be fun to go up to The Bay and try to get a win on Christmas Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not including the Play-In Tournament game, Wednesday will mark the 53rd matchup between a team led by James and Curry. Curry\u2019s teams have a 29-23 record in those matchups, including a 17-11 record in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
But the relationship between James, who\u2019s in his 22nd NBA season and will return 40 on Monday, and Curry, who\u2019s in his 16th NBA season and will turn 37 in March, has evolved over the years since consistently playing against one another in the Finals.<\/p>\n
James and Curry teamed up this past summer, leading Team USA to a gold medal in the Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fun battle because of the longevity of how long we\u2019ve been doing this,\u201d Curry said during an appearance on ESPN\u2019s \u201cNBA Today\u201d on Tuesday. \u201cThere\u2019s more appreciation and respect than probably back in the day because there was a lot of pettiness and resentment. The rivalry was real but it evolves and you still want to go at each other, but the respect is there.\u201d<\/p>\n
When<\/strong>: Wednesday, 5 p.m.<\/p>\n Where<\/strong>: Chase Center, San Francisco<\/p>\n TV\/radio<\/strong>: ABC\/ESPN, 710 AM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wednesday marks only the second Christmas Day meeting between both teams in seven years, the first being in 2018 when James led the Lakers to victory in his debut season with the Lakers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n