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Steph Curry Reveals Special Message He Had for James Harden Before Warriors-Clippers

Liam McKeone

Steph Curry and James Harden faced off yet again on Tuesday night.
Steph Curry and James Harden faced off yet again on Tuesday night. / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
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Steph Curry and James Harden's careers have intersected at numerous points over the years.

The two stars were both selected in the 2009 NBA draft and faced off a few times early in their careers. Once Curry ascended to superstar status with the Warriors and Harden with the Rockets, they engaged in multiple epic playoff duels (which Curry always won). Now in the twilights of their respective careers the pair of all-time great scorers continue to do battle in a competitive Western Conference.

The latest matchup that pitted Curry and Harden against one another came on Tuesday night, with the 3-1 Warriors taking on the 2-1 Clippers. Curry's side once again emerged victorious, this time thanks to incredibly stingy defense that kept Los Angeles to 78 points and Harden to 20 points and a single assist.

During his postgame interview Curry was asked to reflect on his competitive relationship with Harden after more than 15 years of playing against each other. He shared a special message he had for Harden before Tuesday's game that sums up his feelings on it all.

"There's nostalgia, for sure, but there's still a mutual respect and admiration for the fact that we're still out there doing it," Curry said. "I think right before jump ball, I didn't get to talk to him one-on-one but I pointed at him, like you know I'ma do in the jump ball circle, and I kind of mouthed, like, 'We're still doing this.' There are certain guys around the league who fit that category. Especially me and him, Jrue [Holiday], DeMar [DeRozan] in my draft class. Pretty special."

It is indeed a pretty special thing. It's hard to play in the NBA for as long as Curry, Harden, and the remaining members of the '09 draft class have. You need to be both lucky and very good to stick around for that long.

A cool moment of introspection from the Warriors' superstar.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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