Stephen Curry picks Kobe Bryant over LeBron James as best small forward ever

If anyone had any concerns about whether the Steph Curry-LeBron James rivalry was softening in the latter years of their career, fear not.

Perhaps it was the two sides rekindling the rivalry in the postseason this year, and LeBron getting the better of him, but Steph has been a little feisty this offseason. After winning the American Century Championship earlier this summer, he credited losing to the Lakers for helping his golf game.

Now, more recently, Curry offered another not-so-subtle shot at LeBron. In an interview, he was asked to make his all-time starting five and not only did he not include LeBron, he picked Kobe Bryant over him.

Look, he probably didn’t mean anything by this, but it is pretty egregious to not only not pick LeBron as your small forward not once but twice. And then the second option you pick is someone who doesn’t even play the small forward position? Could Kobe play small forward? Probably. Is it notable you picked both him and Larry Bird over probably the greatest player of all time? YES.

Again, to be fair, Kobe and Steph have plenty of history with one another. And the history between LeBron and Steph isn’t quite so nice and cordial, so it’s not a surprise he might include him amongst his favorite players.

But damn if it doesn’t create some drama and laughs. All it takes is one playoff series defeat to really spice things up once again.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.