New comments from Stephen Curry about the Golden State Warriors‘ pursuit of LeBron James this summer sure make it seem like he did very little to convince his long-time pal to come to San Francisco.
After failing to reach the playoffs for the second time in the last three years, there was a ton of speculation that the Warriors were going to be active to improve the roster this offseason. While they were linked to trades for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Trey Murphy, the most realistic move seemed to be adding the 22-time All-Star.
Even before James informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he was not returing to the franchise, Golden State was seen as a heavy favorite. The NBA legend has a well-established friendship with Curry and teammate Draymond Green. With his help, the Warriors would be NBA Finals hopefuls in 2026-27. Plus, joining the Warriors would mean getting to stay in California and not having to uproot his living situation.
However, as his free-agent pursuit played out, Golden State seemed to fall behind in the chase before he eventually chose to go to the other side of the country to join the Philadelphia 76ers.
How could the Warriors end up losing the sweepstakes when they have a couple of future Hall of Famers that can just pick up the phone and try to persuade James to team up with them? Well, it seems that when it comes to Curry, he didn’t even try.
Stephen Curry sure did not try very hard to persuade LeBron James to sign with Golden State Warriors
Was LeBron to the Warriors ever a real possibility?
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) October 15, 2026
Steph Curry talks to @TheFrankIsola about whether he had any conversations with his former Olympic teammate about joining him in Golden State
Check out the full interview in our Warriors season preview: https://t.co/Y9UPq02CbIpic.twitter.com/PFSNAkL7m4
“I thought there was a conversation, and if there was ever some momentum, it would be known based on the profile LeBron has, and if he picks up the phone and says, ‘Hey, what’s going on out there?’ or vice versa, and I pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, what’s on your mind?'” Curry told Sirius/XM Radio. “We want to be in the conversation for a guy like that who’s picking his landing spot.
“But as you know, the way he went about it — taking his time and being patient — and the surprise of Philly. He was going to run his own journey that way, and he deserves to do that, and as a friend, an Olympic teammate, and all that, I’m happy for him that he found somewhere he wants to be.”
So, essentially, Curry waited until the Warriors had gotten “momentum” in discussions and then to be called or told to call James, instead of being proactive to tell his friend, “let’s stop foolishness and join up for a couple of fun seasons together.”
While respecting James’ unique approach to free agency this time around is nice, it sure seems like Curry wasn’t dying to have James on the Warriors this year. Or he would have tried far harder to explain to his friend why he needed to pick Golden State.
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