Stephen Curry didn’t hesitate when someone asked what he’d say to recruit LeBron James. He mentioned the basketball. He mentioned the front office. And then he mentioned the golf.
Curry was at Edgewood Tahoe for the American Century Championship when the question came up. James told the Lakers he plans to play elsewhere next season, and the Warriors have been mentioned as a possible landing spot along with half the league. Cleveland. Miami. Philadelphia. Denver. Minnesota. All of them want a shot at a 40-year-old who still averaged 27 points last season.
When ESPN’s Anthony Slater asked Curry for his odds on signing James, Curry waved it off.
“I don’t have a percentage. It’s kinda up to him,” Curry said. “I feel like any place he calls and says, I want to play there, you move mountains to make it happen. And I know we’re in that boat as well.”
A pitch that starts with competition
Then Curry laid out his actual pitch. It wasn’t a slick PowerPoint or some video package with championship highlights. It was simpler than that.
“The pitch is: Do you want to play good basketball and be around people who know how to play the game? Hopefully raise our floor on our competitiveness this year. There’s good golf in the Bay, but the organization has been there and he knows that. That’s really just self explanatory no matter where he sees himself fitting.”
The golf part isn’t just a throwaway line. The Bay Area has some of the best courses in California and Curry knows James likes to spend time on the course during the offseason. It’s a small detail but it says something about how Curry is thinking about this.
James and Curry have gotten closer over the years. They played together for Team USA at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and that experience apparently strengthened a relationship that used to be mostly competitive respect. Curry has also played with Draymond Green and Steve Kerr for over a decade now, and James has never hidden his respect for all three.
What happens next is entirely up to LeBron
The Warriors have the pieces to make a trade work if James wants to come to Golden State. They have young players like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski. They have draft picks. They have contracts that could be moved. But none of that matters unless James picks up the phone and says he wants to be a Warrior.
Curry made it clear the organization is ready to act. “You move mountains,” he said. That’s not subtle. That’s the Warriors telling James that if he chooses them, they’ll figure out the rest.
James hasn’t set a timeline for his decision. The league is basically waiting on him. And in the meantime, Curry is out here in Tahoe playing in a celebrity golf tournament, dropping hints about the Bay’s fairways and greens like a golf course spokesman who also happens to be one of the best basketball players alive.
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