Curry says he's leader of the pack

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry raised the tension levels for his Christmas showdown with Cleveland's LeBron James, saying he considers himself the world's best basketball player.

In an interview published on Wednesday, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player told Time magazine that in the next year, "you should expect me to keep getting better".

That is a bold statement from a player on pace to shatter his own one-season NBA record for 3-pointers, who had the Warriors off to a record 24-0 start and looks set to smash the record for the best season in NBA history - the 72-10 mark by Chicago in 1995-96.