Everyone needs positive words of encouragement, including Steph Curry.
The Warriors star was mired in a deep shooting slump during the recently completed 2024 Paris Olympics, and he was trying to talk himself out of the cold spell.
But it was LeBron James, a bitter rival-turned-Team USA teammate who helped Curry get hot just in time for the medal round, when the two-time NBA MVP went thermonuclear to secure the gold medal.
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Curry, while talking about how he busted out of his slump, confirmed James' influence while appearing on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" last week (h/t Lakers Nation)
"It's a lot of positive self-talk," Curry told Colbert. "That's really all it is. We were winning and I was doing my part, doing other stuff, setting good screens, just trying to play hard, play defense. But I knew at some point I was going to need to make some shots. That's why I'm here.
"And I actually remember after we played Puerto Rico in the pool-play round, I was doing an interview with one of the guys from the Bay Area and as he's talking, he asked me the same question 'What's wrong with your shot? Are you worried about it?' Yada yada. And positive self-talk came out. I was like 'No, we're winning. I know it's going to come. I know a flurry is going to come.
"And then as soon as I said it, LeBron walks right behind me and is like 'Damn right it is' with his little baritone voice. And I'm like 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. At first it caught me off guard because I still had to get used to liking that guy because of all our battles. And now we're teammates and friends and it was definitely a confident boost. And at the end of the day, it came at the right time."
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Colbert, of course, had to ask if the newfound friendship between Curry and James would get in the way of their heated battles when the Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers play this season.
"Not at all," Curry said.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ron Kroichick is the reporter Curry was speaking to in early August when James made the comment.
Curry entered the medal round averaging just 7.2 points per game during the Olympics, but in the semifinal and gold medal game, he dropped in 60 combined points on 17 of 26 from 3-point range.
The four-time NBA champion sealed the gold medal for Team USA with four 3-pointers in the final 2:47 against France and finished the win off with a "Golden Dagger" over two defenders.
Curry broke out at the perfect time, and he made sure James received some of the credit.
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