Golden State and Cleveland ready to play for an NBA crown once again

LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant spoke to the media on Wednesday (May 31) ahead of thursday's opening game of the NBA Finals. Photo grabbed from Reuters video file.
LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant speaking to the media on Wednesday (May 31). (from Reuters video file)

OAKLAND, United States (Reuters) – LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant spoke to the media on Wednesday (May 31) ahead of Thursday’s opening game of the NBA Finals.

The season that has had little in the way of drama will come to a gripping close over the next two weeks, when two familiar foes fittingly battle in the finals for an unprecedented third consecutive year.

James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are four wins away from repeating as NBA champions in what may go down as one of the greatest championship showdowns ever, but standing in their way is a sharpshooting Golden State Warriors team that beat them in the 2015 Finals.

The ultimate championship rubber match, which almost everyone expected the moment last year’s finals ended, begins on Thursday in Oakland and will cap what has been a predictable 82-game regular season and lopsided postseason.

Golden State, led by two-time reigning league MVP Stephen Curry, are in remarkable form after becoming the first team in league history to enter the finals undefeated (12-0) since the NBA went to the current playoff format in 2003.

And unlike the Warriors squad that blew a 3-1 Finals lead last year after a record-setting 73-9 regular season, this version of the team is even more dangerous after former league MVP and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant was added.