Curry and Thompson will face off with Leonard and George for first time ever on Wednesday night

ByESPN.com ESPN logo
Thursday, March 16, 2023

On Wednesday, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will take on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George when the Golden State Warriors face off against the LA Clippers (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

You'd expect that, considering they play in the same conference and Leonard and George have been on the Clippers since the 2019-20 season, this would be a familiar matchup for fans of both teams. And yet, incredibly, Wednesday night will be the first time ever all these players have played against one another at the same time, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

The Warriors and Clippers have faced off a total of 13 times during the 2019-20 season. Thompson's ACL injury necessitated that he'd miss the entirety of the 2019-20 season, and an Achilles tear kept him out for 2020-21. Then, as Thompson returned, Leonard missed the 2021-22 season, also with an ACL injury. This year, the two teams have played three times already. Both Leonard and George missed the first game, while Curry was out the second and third.

So, tonight, we'll get a glimpse of a rivalry we were denied over the past few seasons. Sounds like it might be a good one.

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