Back when the now 38-year-old LeBron James was younger, he attended one of Stephen Curry’s games while the future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer was playing for Davidson College. James, forever the historian and visionary, knew then that Curry was different. Their mutual respect and admiration began to take shape. James was already a superstar, averaging 30 points per game at only 23 during the 2007–08 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Curry was a deadly marksman who put Davidson on the map during the 2008 NCAA Tournament, carrying them to the Elite Eight as a 10th seed.

“Wasn’t some kid to me!” James tweeted in December 2019, recalling the day. “I knew he was SPECIAL that’s why I went to see it up close and personal.”

Today, 15 years later, the approbation continues. “He puts in the work,” James said of Curry this past Monday, one day before his No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers were set to play the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal at the Chase Center in San Francisco. “And when you put in the work, nine times out of 10, you’re going to see results. And he’s done that through his entire career.”

James said he has “nothing but the utmost respect” for Curry and “everything he’s been able to accomplish, not only on the floor, but also off the floor, too—it’s great to have people like that in this league, setting an example for the generation to come.”

This is the sixth time James and Curry have met in the postseason. They have battled four times  in the NBA Finals when James was a Cavalier and once in the 2021 Play-in Tournament. Overall, Curry holds a 15-8 edge over James in postseason play after the Lakers’ dramatic 117-112 victory to open this postseason series, led by forward Anthony Davis’s 30 points and 23 rebounds.

Curry topped the Warriors with 27 but shot just 10-24 and James had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Given the familiarity James has with Golden State, the Lakers stealing Game 1 on the road was unsurprising. “One of the first things I learned about LeBron the first time we played him in the [2015] Finals was just how smart he was,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr earlier this week. “Coming out of timeouts, he knew what we were doing.”

The series has the makings of being a classic as well as nostalgic, and is filled with irony.  James and Curry were both born  at Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio; James in 1984 and the 35-year-old Curry in 1988. Warriors guard Klay Thompson is going up against his father’s (Mychal Thompson) old team. James and Warriors forward Draymond Green are not only close friends, but business partners.

On the surface, there’s no bad blood. However, that could change as the series unfolds.

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The Jets and Giants are clutching Super Bowl aspirations. Both teams took major steps forward last season. The Jets fielded one of the league’s best defenses and although they finished last in the competitive AFC East with a record of 7-10, they were, by most close observers of the NFL, simply missing a capable quarterback to be a serious championship threat.

They filled that need by acquiring four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers last Monday, three days ahead of the annual draft. Then on draft night, the Jets improved an already formidable defense by selecting edge rusher Will McDonald IV from Iowa State with the 15th pick.
“This is a surreal day for me. After spending 18 years in the same city, it’s been a lot of introductions today and meeting a lot of people, but there’s a lot of excitement,” said Rodgers at his inaugural Jets press conference last Wednesday at the team’s facilities in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“I’m here because I believe in this team, I believe in [head] coach [Robert] Saleh, I believe in the direction of [general manager] Joe Douglas. Obviously, he’s drafted well in recent years, having the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.”
Rodgers, who will turn 40 in December, somewhat quipped, “I’m an old guy, so I want to be part of a team that can win it all, and I believe that this is a place we can get that done.”
The Giants made the playoffs for the first time since 2016 last season. They were 9-7-1, third in the NFC East and defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in a wildcard game before losing 38-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round. They addressed three areas of need in the draft by taking University of Maryland defensive back Deonte Banks with the 24th pick in the first round, offensive lineman Michael Schmitz in the second round (No. 57) and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt from the University of Tennessee in Round 3 (No. 73).
“I feel like I’ve got a mentality just for me to try to be better at every play,” said 6-foot-1-inch, 197-pound Banks about his style of playing cornerback. “I try to be aggressive, and I try to use my superpower, which is my physicality.”
The Jets and Giants will meet in the 2023 regular season at their shared home, MetLife Stadium, at a date that will be revealed when the full NFL schedule is released later this month.  

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On April 23, DaShena Stevens, a member of the St. John’s University Athletics Hall of Fame, received another honor, this one tied to her home state: She was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (CWBHOF) in recognition of her outstanding play at Trinity Catholic High School and with a nod to her incredible accomplishments with the Red Storm, scoring 1,515 points during her collegiate career.

“It was amazing,” said Stevens. “A lot of my family was there and some of my friends. It was a reunion in a sense. Then, being able to meet some of the individuals from the selection committee and others from the CWBHOF was exciting. 

“Both of my parents played high school basketball; they went to Stamford High School,” she added. “To have both of them there was excellent.” 

As a standout high school player, Stevens received a lot of attention, but always remained focused on team success. “From a playing standpoint, I had to play every single position—the one through five,” she recalled. “In college, I had my position, maybe a hybrid position, but in high school, I played them all. That was cool…also, keeping everyone involved and making sure it was still fun. These were all your best friends.” 

Coming into college, Stevens had insight into each position, which she said made her a better teammate. She was instrumental in making St. John’s a national presence, including being part of the Red Storm team that broke the University of Connecticut’s 99-game home court winning streak. She was excited to see St. John’s do it again this year. 

After graduating in 2012, Stevens played professionally, and eventually returned to St. John’s as assistant coach for three seasons before turning her attention to athletics administration. Today, she is the deputy director of athletics at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

In addition to the contingent of parents, sibling, uncles, cousins, and long-time friends, Stevens’s daughter Aria was in attendance. “As she’s getting older, I think she’s realizing that when everybody talks about me and basketball, they’re talking about me playing,” she said. “She said, ‘I think you were kind of good. Can you still play?’ 

“She’s starting to know that side of me,” Stevens added. “She Googled me the other day when we were at home. She saw all of my basketball pictures. That was a proud moment.”

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* This article was originally published here