National Basketball Association

Akron connection: Finals stars Curry, James share roots

Published May. 30, 2015 12:48 p.m. ET

foxsports

AKRON, Ohio -- For LeBron James, Akron is home -- again on a permanent basis -- and a place in which the four-time NBA MVP is deeply invested.

For Steph Curry, Akron was his birthplace and a very temporary home. Born here while his father, Dell Curry was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Steph Curry knows Charlotte as home.

Still, when Steph Curry won his first NBA MVP this season, James said he was "glad to see another kid born in Akron, Ohio win MVP."

With the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers set to take on the Curry-led Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, Ohio's fifth-largest city gets to claim not only its most famous resident and the world's most dominating basketball player but maybe the game's best shooter as well.

"We've never talked about (our Akron ties)," James said Friday. "But I think that might be a storyline."

James' nose for news comes from years in the spotlight. Curry led the Warriors to the league's best record this season and is getting used to life as a megastar. From Times Square billboards and commercials to receiving the most All-Star votes of any player to his first Finals run and bringing his young daughter to the podium after playoff wins, Curry's profile has never been higher.

Two and a half hours later, he was born. For the five months Dell, Sonya and Stephen Curry lived in Northeast Ohio, they lived in Akron -- not far from where James spent much of his childhood and attended high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Asked Friday to clarify his birthplace James told reporters, "I was born all over."

His imprint is all over Akron, including his Nike logos on basketball courts in parks and recreation centers through the city. The University of Akron's athletic programs are outfitted by adidas except for men's basketball, which is one of four programs nationally to wear Nike's LeBron line. In 2013, James gave more than $1 million to refurbish the gym at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. It's now called LeBron James Arena.

Curry is an Under Armour guy. That has nothing to do with why James said the two don't talk -- "we're respectful," he said -- or why they haven't talked about their Akron roots. They're just busy otherwise.

James, who loves basketball history, probably knows that Akron native Nate Thurmond, a seven-time NBA All-Star in the 1960s and '70s, has his No. 42 retired by both the Cavs and Warriors. James has known of Curry since Curry was playing in college at Davidson; at least twice, James went to see Curry play college games.

Now, Curry plays the biggest games of his pro career with James on the other side.

"I read up on his story, how under-recruited he was," James said. "To be able to lead Davidson like he did during the tournament was special. I knew he was a special kid."