4-time MVP LeBron James and the Miami Heat will face the San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan in the NBA Finals this year for the second straight season. This will be the third time James and Duncan have met at the highest NBA stage; Duncan and the Spurs swept LeBron and the Cavs back in 2007, Duncan’s fourth and last championship.
As a bit of a reminder how long Duncan and the Spurs has been dominating the NBA here’s a picture of James as a high school freshman in 1999, the year Duncan won his first championship:
Let's take a trip back in time to 1999. While Tim Duncan was winning his first title, LeBron was a HS freshman. pic.twitter.com/PjDLhjCjRw
— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) June 4, 2014
Who knew that four years later that skinny kid from Akron, OH would go on to become a two-time champion, 4-time MVP, 10x All-Star and one of the best players in NBA history, all within 15 years. Wow.
Love him or hate him, what LeBron’s accomplished in such a short period of time is impressive. And equally as impressive is how long Duncan has consistently remained one of the best players of this generation. Them meeting in this year’s finals is sort of a bridge between their respective eras; the Spurs were arguably the best team of the 2000’s, while the Heat have owned 2010-on.
Symmetrical in a way, right?
-ALR
