Stephen Curry gets heartwarming praise from NBA All-Star for LeBron James' interest in Warriors
The Times Of India July 12, 2026 11:39 AM
Stephen Curry 's pull around the league is once again part of the LeBron James free agency conversation, and Andre Iguodala says that says everything about where Curry stands in the sport's history. Speaking to ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Friday, the former Warriors forward argued that James even considering Golden State is a tribute to what Curry has built over more than a decade in the Bay Area, comparing his cultural reach to that of NBA pioneer Yao Ming.
James became an unrestricted free agent this month after informing the Los Angeles Lakers he intended to leave following eight seasons, and the Warriors are among several teams that have been linked to him as he plots his next move.
Andre Iguodala praises Stephen Curry for LeBron James' interest in Warriors amid free agency
Iguodala, who won a Finals MVP battling James' Cavaliers in 2015, made the comments after the NBA Players Association's executive leadership transition news conference, where he was succeeded as executive director by former Warriors chief legal officer David Kelly. He said a recent text exchange with a friend put James' reported interest in perspective.
" Steph Curry , no one understands how great he is," Iguodala said, adding that he has felt that way about Curry since 2013. He compared Curry's broader influence on the sport to Yao Ming's role in growing basketball's global reach, saying the game will keep feeling Curry's effect on new generations of players for decades.
Iguodala also touched on the flip side of a potential pairing. He suggested the years of playoff battles between James and Curry, including three Finals matchups the Warriors won from 2015 to 2018, could actually complicate the decision if the storyline gets framed as James validating Curry's legacy before he signs anywhere.
What did Stephen Curry say about LeBron James' potential Warriors landing?
Curry addressed the speculation directly earlier in the week at the American Century Championship in Nevada, where he was more measured than some of the chatter around him. On James' decision, Curry said simply, "It's kind of up to him." He rather than money, framing Golden State as an organization built around players who know how to win, while also calling a Curry-James pairing a story that would be premature to discuss in detail before James decides.
That restraint lines up with where the market actually stands. James' free agency has moved through several stages since the negotiating window opened, and while the Warriors were viewed as strong contenders early on, more recent reporting has pointed toward Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia as the teams gaining the most traction. Golden State's path likely runs through limited cap space, headlined by a $3.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception, unless the front office gets more aggressive maneuvering money off the roster.
Curry and James won Olympic gold together in Paris in 2024, an experience Iguodala pointed to as evidence the two already understand how to elevate each other on the same roster. Whether that chemistry ever plays out in the regular season remains the open question hanging over the rest of James' free agency, and how Golden State chooses to spend the next several days of this negotiating window could determine the future.
