The 2024 NBA All-Star reserves list was released, and Curry’s selection came as no surprise.
Coaches voted to select Curry, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns for the Western Conference; for the Eastern Conference, the picks were Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Haliburton, Bam Adebayo, Julius Randle and Paolo Banchero. There were also notable snubs, especially in the Western Conference: the Kings currently sit fifth in the standings, but De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis both missed the cut. Other omissions included James Harden of the Clippers, Lauri Markkanen of the Jazz, and Zion Williamson of the Pelicans.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence that as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry are in the final twilight of their careers, they’ve become teammates—if only for the brief All-Star weekend.

The rivalry between James, Durant, and Curry officially began in the 2012 NBA Finals and has endured to this day, defining one of the most fiercely competitive and dramatic eras in NBA history, intertwined with countless memories for fans.

Before now, the trio had never shared a team. Durant and Curry were teammates with the Warriors and have collaborated in All-Star games, while James has paired with both Durant and Curry individually in All-Star events—but the three have always been “one short” of being together. Notably, they’ve never even suited up for the U.S. national team simultaneously.

In 2023, the U.S. men’s basketball team stumbled again at the World Cup, prompting LeBron James to start rallying a roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics with the goal of American basketball seeking revenge. But public attention skewed elsewhere: if Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry joined, it would have marked the first time the LeBron-Durant-Curry trio teamed up—essentially the “final dance” of an era.

Yet as the U.S. team selection process dragged on, time became the greatest adversary for these veterans. No one could predict the future, and the idea of a “final dance” at the Olympics carried enormous uncertainty. Now, the All-Star Game has prematurely filled that void.

Just how dominant would a LeBron-Durant-Curry trio be? In their prime, it remained an unsolvable mystery—a question that never found an answer in the heat of their championship-era rivalry.

In the 2018 All-Star Game, LeBron James and Kevin Durant teamed up against Stephen Curry in a legendary moment: with their long arms outstretched, James and Durant cornered Curry, leaving him nowhere to go with the ball. In the 2021 All-Star Game, LeBron and Curry debuted as teammates, delivering the game’s most spectacular highlight when James’ long pass found Curry for a catch-and-shoot jumper. In 2022, the duo reunited, with LeBron hitting a buzzer-beater and Curry sinking 16 three-pointers en route to 50 points.

Those iconic moments define a generation’s basketball youth. For over a decade, James, Durant, and Curry have been timeless topics. When healthy, few could stop them—even as Father Time caught up. In 2020, 35-year-old LeBron won a championship in the bubble; in 2021, 32-year-old Durant took the eventual champion Bucks to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, his title bid ending with a toe-on-the-line three-pointer; in 2022, 34-year-old Curry claimed his fourth ring and first Finals MVP; in 2023, 38-year-old LeBron’s Lakers eliminated the Warriors in the Western Conference semis.

In a recent Lakers-Warriors showdown, we witnessed anothAt that moment, it almost gave us the feeling that they could still play like they used to and control the game. But looking at the team rankings, we have to accept a reality: an era is coming to an end. Kevin Durant’s Suns currently rank 6th in the Western Conference; the Lakers defeated the Celtics but are still 9th in the West; the Warriors are 12th in the West, and whether they can make the play-in tournament remains a question.

Different from the past, this season, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry are healthy. They might dominate in a single game, but over the long season, they’re no longer synonymous with victory. In certain moments, the sense of powerlessness from the LeBron-Durant-Curry trio is palpable, a feeling that everyone can sense.

er dream matchup between LeBron and Curry—perhaps the perfect epitaph for an era. At 39, LeBron dropped 36 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists, and a game-winning free throw in double-overtime. Nearly 36, Curry went 9-of-21 from deep for 46 points and 7 assists. Their rivalry remains basketball’s living legacy.

As of February, Curry has had two games with single-digit scoring: he went 2-of-12 against the Trail Blazers and 2-of-14 against the Raptors, failing to make a single three-pointer in both outings. Durant has notched 8 games with 35+ points, but the Suns lost 3 of those matchups—while his “Reaper” scoring touch remains, it no longer guarantees victory.

At 39, James briefly seemed to defy age, but the Lakers’ standings tell the truth. Averaging 24.7 points—his lowest since his rookie season—he’s posted a negative plus-minus in 18 of 44 games. For context, during his 2020 championship run, he had just 18 negative plus-minus games in 67 regular-season contests.

Youth is surging forward. Curry’s All-Star starting snub signals a paradigm shift, with OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) emerging as a new face. Among reserves, Anthony Edwards (born after 2000, under 23 years old) leads the next generation, alongside snubbed talents like De’Aaron Fox and Zion Williamson. Eastern Conference reserve Paolo Banchero (born in 2002) is just in his second NBA season.

Their teams have outperformed the veterans’ squads: Edwards’ Timberwolves and SGA’s Thunder rank 1st and 2nd in the West, while Banchero lifted the once-dormant Magic to as high as 3rd in the East (currently 8th).

But the changing of the guard isn’t just about one generation fading away—it’s also about the trends they once spearheaded.

In October 2012, the NBA revamped its All-Star voting rules, axing the center position and opting for three frontcourt spots instead. For two decades, LeBron James has led the era of versatile forwards, while Stephen Curry has become the standard-bearer of the small-ball movement. Their influences have intertwined, putting traditional centers on the brink. Yet in recent seasons, centers have stepped back into the limelight.

Nikola Jokic won the NBA regular-season MVP in 2021 and 2022, while Joel Embiid claimed the honor in 2023. This year’s Western Conference All-Star reserves include two centers: Anthony Davis of the Lakers and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Timberwolves. In fact, the Western Conference has more centers who are shifting the landscape, such as Domantas Sabonis of the Kings and Lauri Markkanen of the Jazz.

Just as forwards and guards once upended the dominance of centers, history evolves in a spiral—now, the resurgence of centers is squeezing the space once dominated by small-ball systems.

The end of one era marks the beginning of another. Rituals are indispensable in life, and whether by coincidence or not, the union of LeBron, Durant, and Curry offers the perfect ceremonial moment—like the mightiest wave in the tide of basketball history, and a journey to fulfill long-held dreams. In the midst of it, we may not yet grasp how this moment will be written in NBA annals, but recall the 2003 All-Star Game: Michael Jordan’s final All-Star appearance, a theatrical masterpiece. For years since, the details of that game have been meticulously documented, still sparking endless fascination.