LeBron vs. Duncan Part III

The NBA has long hoped for a worthy rival to compete against LeBron James in the Finals year after year.

For a while, we thought it was going to be Kobe vs. LeBron. Then we assumed that we were going to see Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook go toe-to-toe with King James. Neither of those came to fruition.

Finally, the NBA and its fan’s prayers have been answered. Ladies and gentlemen, we got ourselves a Finals rematch for the ages.

The NBA hasn’t seen a Finals rematch since Michael Jordan faced the Utah Jazz in ’97 and ’98. It’s been too long since we’ve seen two teams this good meet up in early June.

This rematch has so many storylines that it can make you dizzy just pondering them all.

Youth vs. the Old School.

King James vs. The Big Fundamental.

Dynasty versus dynasty.

I think it’s fair to say that LeBron’s most competitive rival has been Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs.

LeBron faced the Spurs in his first Finals appearance back in 2007 where the Cavaliers were swept 4-0. After Duncan won the championship he told LeBron. “Thanks for giving it to us this year. This will be your league very soon.”

No one expected Duncan and the Spurs to be back in the Finals seven years later.

That’s just a testament to how consistent the Spurs have been since they drafted Duncan in 1997 with the number one selection in the NBA draft. Since then, the Spurs have won over 50 games every single season.

The Spurs won their first championship during the lockout-shortened season in 1999, the year after MJ retired from Chicago, where they won 4-1 against the New York Knicks. In total, the Spurs have won four championships.

Since their first championship, the Spurs got three more Larry O’Brien trophies and are looking to add one more to the trophy case. If they win their fifth championship, they’ll tie the Los Angeles Lakers with having five rings since MJ left the Bulls in ’98.

Crazy enough, the Spurs could have won their fifth championship last year if it wasn’t for a pair of bad bounces and a last second three-pointer by Ray Allen.

Last year, the whole world was shocked that Miami was able to erase a five-point lead with just over 28 seconds left remaining in a game six that would have sent them home. If it wasn’t for Ray Allen hitting a corner three with 5.2 seconds remaining, Duncan, Parker and Ginobli might have rode off into the sunset and retired after their fifth ring. Instead, they’re back to try it again.

The Miami Heat and James are looking to become the most recent team to three-peat since Kobe, Shaq and the Lakers did it back from 2000-2003.  

The team standing in the way of Miami from making history is not just a familiar foe, but an opponent that is thirsty for vengeance.

“We’re happy that it’s the Heat again,” said Duncan. “We’ve got that bad taste in our mouth still. We’ll do it this time”

It’s unusual for Tim Duncan to talk trash at all, yet it’s even more surprising to see him take a verbal jab at the defending champions.

What Duncan did was great for the NBA and the health of the league because it has added some spice into a series that was already going to be marketed as the most exciting matchup in recent history.

Maybe LeBron will never be able to go against Kobe or Durant in another NBA Finals, but let’s just sit back and enjoy two dominant players and franchises have a rematch for the crown.