Stephen Curry's hilarious encounter with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2014

For new NBA fans, the rivalry between LeBron James and Stephen Curry and their respective Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors has been the mainstay of the 2010s NBA. The two superstars have each won 2 MVP trophies in the past decade and were fulcrums of 3 championship-winning teams each.

But they weren't always considered rivals, or on an equal footing. As offensive superstars go, Curry took a good bit of time to be considered an All Star/All-NBA player. As we often see in many sports, the underdog is often more loved by both rivals and fans of the game, and so was the case with LeBron James.

In the clip above, you can hear LeBron James raving about Steph Curry's 'hesi' pull-up moves:

You're gonna give my point guard 3 hesis? You're gonna go here, there and here again (gesticulating in 2 directions)? I'm like "Damn"! 3 hesis! Give my point guard 3 hesis though for the and-1. You're a real bad motherf*****.

LeBron James has actually been a fairly big fan of Steph Curry since even before Steph's NBA debut. He turned up at Steph's Conference games with Davidson College during Curry's record-breaking NCAA season, when he finished as the NCAA scoring champion.

@StephenCurry30 needs to stop it man!! He's ridiculous man! Never before seen someone like him in the history of ball!

— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 28, 2016

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Shortly after this video was shot, the Heat's Big Three era ended with LeBron James' departure to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers-Warriors rivalry defined the end of the decade and the pair became the first pair of teams in NBA history to face each other in the NBA Finals for 4 straight seasons.

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LeBron James off the court

2018 NBA Finals - Game Four

LeBron James has had a reputation for being one of the nicest guys around the NBA. Almost everyone who's played with him has described him as a model teammate - the kind to have his mates' backs when they might need him, on or off the court.

LeBron James has also been accused of engaging in merciless tampering, recruiting players that he thinks are likely to play with him or will add to the strength of his teams. For instance, there were heavy rumours from the beginning of the 2018-19 season about the Lakers trading for Anthony Davis, and LeBron James did nothing to quell them with his actions.

LeBron praises Steph Curry: 'Don't get fooled by that smile.' https://t.co/BlbPuUYNPN pic.twitter.com/37ykeQkrHe

— theScore (@theScore) September 8, 2016

LeBron James's effusive praise of Stephen Curry in the video could be construed by some people as a recruiting attempt. The 4-time MVP has never been shy in expressing his desire to play with great players, having left hometown Cleveland Cavaliers once to do so.