Steph vs LeBron: The greatest basketball rivalry of this generation

The basketball world's eyes lit up when we found out LeBron James and Steph Curry meet again in the NBA Playoffs, with James' Lakers facing Curry's Warriors in the Western Conference semi-finals.

James and The Lakers took home a hard-fought road victory in game one, winning the contest 117-112.

James had a productive offensive night, producing 22 points and 11 assists, while Curry dropped off from his historic 50-point game, giving The Warriors 27 points and six assists.

According to yahoo.com, James spoke to the media before game one: "I've got nothing but the utmost respect for Steph and everything he's been able to accomplish not only on the floor but also off the floor."

Despite the rivalry they have created over the years, both know they aren't getting any younger, so games and series like these add a little more importance to them personally.

Player rivalries play a major part in NBA history, with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson having the most prominent one in the 80s. However, Lebron and Steph may even give that one a run for its money.

Let's look at how LeBron James versus Steph Curry became the greatest NBA rivalry of this generation.

The rivalry started in 2015, when LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers after winning in Miami, facing up against Curry and his new-look Golden State team.

Their first matchup in the NBA Finals was in 2015, with Golden State winning the title in six games after the Cleveland Cavaliers went 2-1 up in the series.

James averaged a monster 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists, but it wasn't enough for him to see past MVP Curry and The Warriors.

In 2016, Steph Curry was voted the first-ever unanimous MVP for the season, helping the Warriors to the best record in league history with 73 wins and nine losses.

The season and series looked to be over when LeBron and Cleveland went 3-1 down in the NBA Finals to The Warriors. However, James and his Cleveland team became the first team in NBA history to recover a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

Curry had a below-par finals, averaging 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists. On the other hand, James willed his team to victory, averaging 30 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.

After the loss, Golden State added superstar Kevin Durant to their ranks, creating the most incredible NBA roster assembled, including Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Durant.

Cleveland and James would meet Curry and The Warriors two more times in the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018. With Durant as the primary game-changer, Golden State won 4-1 in 2017 and 4-0 in 2018.

Despite Steph Curry winning three of the four matchups in the NBA Finals, James has a better head-to-head in stats, averaging 33/12/9 in 22 games to Curry's 25/6/6.

After speaking on LeBron's eight finals trips in a row and Curry's four championships, Lakers coach Darvin Ham said, "That's the rivalry. Rivalry of the generations, particularly those two players. It's going to be another fun battle," according to fadeawayworld.net.