According to Anthony Slater of ESPN, the Golden State Warriors have tried to acquire LeBron James three times.
The Warriors attempted to trade for James when he was on the Los Angeles Lakers and wanted to sign the NBA legend this summer in free agency.
Golden State went 0/3 in its James pursuit. The future Hall of Famer signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green heavily recruited James to the Warriors this summer, but James didn’t want to play for Golden State because of the rivalry he had with the franchise during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
The Warriors and Cavaliers met in four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018. Golden State went 3-1, but Cleveland historically won the 2016 championship, becoming the first team in NBA history to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.
“That’s why you don’t envision anything until it happens,” Curry said at Moses Moody’s youth camp about the Warriors not getting James, via The Athletic. “There’s a lot of moving parts.”
The Warriors have won four championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) in the Curry-Green era. However, they missed the playoffs last season and haven’t made any additions in free agency this offseason.
Green re-signed with Golden State after James picked Philadelphia and Kristaps Porziņģis signed a two-year extension in June. Jimmy Butler is expected to miss most of next season recovering from his ACL tear, so the Warriors won’t be a title contender.
Curry and James have combined to win six MVPs, eight championships and five Finals MVPs. Curry is the best shooter of all time, while James is the greatest all-around player in NBA history. The two basketball icons played exceptionally well off each other in the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024 and the Warriors may have been able to compete for the championship next season with James, Curry and Green leading the way.
However, James is headed to Philadelphia and will finish his legendary career there, while Curry and the Warriors will run it back with the same roster from last season besides rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.
