MIAMI — Scrawled across LeBron James' back, underneath the nameplate on his No. 6 Miami Heat jersey, is "CHOSEN 1." The words have stretched out with his physique but remain a testament to his talent.
There's a wizard covering Tim Duncan's heart. His No. 21 San Antonio Spurs jersey, the one he's worn for 16 seasons, occasionally reveals the tattoo while he plays as it drapes over his pointed shoulders and lanky arms.
This is basketball in evolution, two of the greatest players in NBA history taking the court for the NBA Finals, beginning at 9 p.m. ET Thursday in Miami. James and Duncan entered the NBA as No.1 draft picks, six years apart but with matching expectations. They've delivered, as the only players with a championship and multiple MVPs since 2000.
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These Finals could define them, build their résumés toward inclusion among the NBA's inner circle. But the superstars, one in his august years, the other at the top of the world, share a more narrow focus.
"The really good ones don't start skipping steps and thinking about how they're being viewed until long after they've called it a career," said Jeff Van Gundy, the former coach who will call the Finals for ABC. "They're just locked into the present moment, knowing it's very hard to do what they've done."
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That means five rings, six MVPs, four Finals MVPs, two rookie of the year awards, 17 All-NBA first-team selections and 23 All-Star Game appearances, combined. That production has James and Duncan discussed among the greats even as they play.
But while teammates Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili burnish Hall of Fame résumés, Duncan and James are pretty much already there.
Duncan is further along. He joins Bob Cousy, Michael Jordan, George Mikan and and Shaquille O'Neal as the only players to be first-team All-NBA and win a title in the same season four times; this would be his fifth.
"He's the greatest power forward to play the game," said NBA TV analyst Steve Smith, who was on the Spurs' 2003 championship team. "I think that door is shut and closed. But overall? If he can get five (championships) and maybe an MVP trophy from this Finals, he moves up tremendously."
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He's done it through remarkable consistency. At 37, he is as efficient as he was a decade ago, though his minutes have been cut. Duncan lost weight in the offseason, reviving him and taking him back to the All-NBA first team for the first time since 2006-07, the Spurs' last title season.
"He's a champion; he has championship DNA," James said. "When you give everything to the game, as far as sacrifices that you make, the game repays you. It has allowed him to continue to play at a high level, even at his age."
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Duncan spent four seasons at Wake Forest, polishing his game while NBA scouts waited impatiently. James chose a faster path, entering the NBA out of high school in 2003. He took a few years to get his feet fully under him, but his career has been one of constant evolution. Listed at 250 pounds, James appears larger. His power forward frame pairs with the speed and skills of a guard. He shot 56.5% from the field, 40.6% on three-pointers this season.
"He's definitely evolved," Duncan said when asked to compare James now to the player he was in the 2007 Finals, when the Spurs swept James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. "He's a much better shooter than he was back then. His confidence level is obviously definitely much higher."
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But this is the self-proclaimed "Chosen 1." James has one championship in 10 seasons while Duncan won three in the same span. James stumbled in the 2011 NBA Finals vs. the Dallas Mavericks, drawing criticism. Neither Duncan nor Jordan, against whom James is so often measured, ever lost in the Finals.
Another Finals loss would be a strike against his case as being one of the best players ever.
"It takes a step back (if the Heat lose)," Smith said. "Everything now, he's measured against the all-time greats, the (Kobe Bryants), the Michaels. But he'll have been to the Finals four times.
"Some of the greatest ever never made it to the Finals. I think it would be a step back, but it wouldn't tarnish him."
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