"So insecure about American sports": NBA and soccer fans clash over LeBron James, Steph Curry & Kevin Durant's team-up post

On Christmas Day, NBA icons LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were featured in an ABC special titled "NBA OGs Convo." While this special was meant to celebrate the legacies of three all-time basketball greats, fans of another immensely popular sport decided to weigh in as well.

After the league's official Instagram account posted a picture taken from the set of "NBA OGs Convo," soccer fans offered some not-so-positive reactions:

"Basketball is just America. And they call it the world champion," said one netizen.

"I like both sports but I ain't trying to watch an NBA game where both teams shoot 50 3's each every game...I will gladly watch football over basketball," another added.

It was only a matter of time before basketball fans came to the defense of their sport:

"These guys are so insecure about American sports," added another.

"NBA egenerates more money than soccer who cares about instagram likes," commented one NBA fan.

"Tbh Steph clears Messi and Ronny," said another.

Meanwhile, some fans refused to take sides in this entire affair:

"Let people enjoy both man…Social Media giving everyone a bad rep," suggested one netizen.

NBA draws massive ratings with Lakers-Warriors game on Christmas Day

In terms of popularity, the NBA showcased its strength in viewership, thanks to a game featuring two players from the viral photograph.

The Christmas Day game pitting James' Los Angeles Lakers and Curry's Golden State Warriors reportedly averaged 7.76 million viewers. The showdown inside Chase Arena significantly contributed to the NBA's strong U.S. viewership on Dec. 25. On that day, the league's five-game slate reportedly averaged 5.25 million viewers.

"I wish there were more of our great players who had a chance to play on that stage on Christmas Day," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said shortly before Christmas. "It’s been an interesting turnaround from certainly my earlier days in the league when we got a lot of complaints about playing on Christmas – and now it comes the other way, which is, 'Why aren’t we playing on Christmas?'"

The Lakers-Warriors game generated plenty of drama in the fourth quarter, as a precarious eight-point lead by James and his crew was whittled down by the hometown team.

With 6.3 seconds left, Curry swished a 32-foot three to tie the game at 113. Then, with the clock reading 1.7 seconds, Austin Reaves converted a layup to set the final score at 115-113. The thrilling end to this game will continue to generate online buzz among NBA fans for weeks to come.