If there is one rivalry which many NBA fans are looking forward to next season, it's the Golden State Warriors vs the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.
LeBron James' arrival at the Lakers has certainly spiced things up in the West, as now it will be a lot more difficult for Steph Curry and co. at the Warriors to win their fourth NBA Championship of the past five years, and their third title in a row.
In recent years, however, it hasn't been like this. Golden State has managed to dominate the West while Los Angeles has struggled. The polar opposite was happening though when the two-time MVP winner first entered the league.
Warriors-Lakers history
Curry is the only member of this current Warriors roster that knows what life was like at Golden State when the Lakers were still the kings of the roost in the Western Conference.
This is because he was drafted by Golden State with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 draft ahead of the 2009-10 season, the same season which the Lakers would win their most recent NBA Championship.
On Monday in a sit-down interview with The Associated Press while hosting his annual elite camp at Ultimate Fieldhouse, via the Washington Post’s Janie McCauley, the three-time NBA champion said he is looking forward to the Warriors-Lakers rivalry next season.
He said: “And a whole new-look Laker team with some of the young kids. It should be fun, the Bay Area and L.A. and the whole thing."
The reason why Curry is looking forward to the Warriors-Lakers rivalry in the 2018-19 season is because of the buzz it will generate. He thinks the atmosphere in this rivalry will return to the levels it was when he first joined the league nine years ago.
He said: “When I first got into the league Oracle would be buzzing any time the Lakers came in. There probably will be a revolution of Laker fans that are going to try to creep in but I hope Bay Area and Dub Nation we keep control of that competition because we’re on top right now.”
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