With the NBA Finals beginning today, it is one of the first in many years where no one really knows who will claim the Larry O'Brien trophy. It will be a rematch of the 1999 Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks in what is sure to be a series packed with storylines and excitement.
The Spurs are one of the youngest teams to ever make the big dance and are looking to start their dynastic dominance, backed by an unprecedented amount of raw talent that has trumped some of the league's best teams during their playoff run.
While the Knicks have finally gotten over the hump of decades of playoff failure to reach their moment and try to reclaim the biggest achievement in the sport.
Going into the series, the Spurs are the favourites, but the Knicks are no ordinary underdog, with them already claiming the season series against the Spurs and beating them in the Emirates Cup. So how can the Spurs knock off a white-hot Knicks team and move on to claim their sixth banner?
Everyone's Clicking
It's a fundamental belief that you need to play your best as a team at the right time of the year, and the Knicks have certainly been on the mark when it comes to coming together when they need to. Winning their 11-straight games, the Spurs haven't quite had the same amount of recent success, but the form of their players says otherwise.
Stephon Castle (19.2 PPG), Dylan Harper (13.0 PPG) and Julian Champagnie (11.3 PPG) are all averaging more than they did in the regular season and don't show any signs of slowing down after a prolific game seven performance against the reigning champions on their own home floor.
