Golden State Warriors star names key reason which stopped LeBron James from playing with Steph Curry in the NBA

LeBron James' reason for electing against teaming up with Steph Curry for one of the NBA's deadliest duos has been explained.

James left Los Angeles Lakers following an eight-year run at the end of June and signalled his intentions to continue playing with a 24th season in a new environment.

The 41-year-old rubbished talk of retirement and it quickly emerged that he had ambitions to win a fifth NBA championship.

"I want to join a franchise that kind of shares the same motto as myself and that's practicing championship habits every day, but trusting the process more than anything," James stated.

According to ESPN, James' agent Rich Paul spoke to 27 different franchises and whittled it down to five - his former teams the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers - who 'King' ultimately chose.

James has reportedly taken the biggest pay cut in NBA history, with his base salary said to have dropped to just $3.88 million.

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A sensational switch to the Warriors would have seen the two greatest players of the generation join forces in the NBA after their Gold medal exploits with the US basketball team in the 2024 Olympics.

However, Draymond Green - Curry's teammate at the Warriors - believes his fixation in history playing against the team is the key factor behind his hesitation to play alongside Curry.

Speaking on his podcast, Green said: "You look at Golden State, and I ultimately don't think Bron was ever able to get over the history, and I understand it, I get it," Green said. "What we all ultimately always knew was like, that's the hurdle to get over. I don't think it's the team, the organization, anything else. I think it's the history.

"We live in a day and age where everybody who doesn't have anything to say has something to say. And so, he's gonna get crushed if he comes to the Warriors, 'Ahh man, you went to team up with Steph, you had to go to them.' I think ultimately that weighed in on the decision a lot. That played a big role in the Warriors not landing LeBron."

The same point was vocalised by Anthony Slater of ESPN, who reported that James would have been keen on playing with Warriors elsewhere.

He stated: “I had a source tell me they think LeBron would have been more interested in playing with Steph Curry elsewhere, away from the Warriors, than actually going to the Warriors, just because of the history. And they think that’s part of the reason they were never ultimately considered."

What is the history between LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors?

James is the highest-scoring player in the history of the NBA and he achieved a dream of playing with his son at the Lakers.

He now looks to continue his legacy with the 76ers. But James' reluctance to sign with the Warriors can be traced back to the fact that James only beat them once in the NBA Finals.

Curry and his Warriors crew beat James in three of his six NBA Finals losses.

Despite the rivalry on the court, James did call Warriors "the best team in our league" in the past and paid tribute to Warrior, who he called, "one of the greatest players to ever play this game".