'The Lakers stink, the Warriors stink': Are LeBron James and Steph Curry still relevant?

In the past couple of seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors have routinely fallen short of winning an NBA Championship. However, every year, people believe that Steph Curry and LeBron James can lead them there.

The Lakers and Warriors finished seventh and tenth, respectively, last season. Curry's Warriors were knocked out in the play-in by the Sacramento Kings, and the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round.

Can you knock Steph Curry and LeBron James? The pair have just teamed up for the first time to win Olympic gold in Paris, with James winning MVP and Curry finishing the final with a touch of three-point brilliance to secure the victory.

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The pair shined in more than just the Olympics. ESPN reported that Curry averaged 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game, while LeBron averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in the NBA last season. This shows they are still premiere players.

Despite the NBA Championships, MVPs, Finals MVPs, scoring titles, and each holding historical records (LeBron is the record points holder, Curry holds the three-point record), Charles Barkley believes their history has no relevance to championship success for this season.

According to Basketball Network, Barkley said: "I went off on the news media last year, mainly a lot of those clowns on ESPN. Every day for three months [people asked] are the Lakers and the Warriors contenders? I'm like, 'Yo, man; I told y'all six months ago the Lakers stink; the Warriors stink.'"

Can you blame fans and critics for getting excited about LeBron James's or Steph Curry's potential championship runs? The Warriors legend turns 37, and LeBron turns 40 this season, and they continue to produce moments of magic.

Forbes reports that the Golden State Warriors are the most valuable NBA franchise at $7.7 billion, while the Lakers are third at $6.4 billion. James and Curry's jerseys were one and two in sales a season ago.

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In January 2024, the Warriors-Lakers clash was nationally televised by ABC and had 3.9 million viewers, the most for a regular season in four years. The season before, their second-round playoff clash in 2023 had 7.4 million viewers, the largest cable audience for an early playoff-round series in NBA history.

If Barkley is talking about championship relevance, then he has a point. The West and the East have many strong contenders for championship glory, with the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Dallas Mavericks stacked in every compartment.

The Warriors have lost star guard Klay Thompson to the Mavericks but have picked up crafty shot-makers Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson. The Lakers have made zero standout moves in the off-season so far, leaving them in the same position as last season.

LeBron James and Steph Curry are eternal greats of the game and will draw audiences no matter how relevant their franchises are. Can either of them win another championship?

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