![]() ![]() In 2010, Spurs president of basketball and head coach Gregg Popovich made a congratulatory phone call to Heat president Pat Riley for signing James and Chris Bosh to play with Dwyane Wade. After the deciding game, Duncan sought out James in the locker room to praise him for a great series and told James that the league would be his someday. LeBron James and Tim Duncan previously faced off in the 2007 NBA Finals, when James was in his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which saw the Spurs sweep the Cavaliers in four games, giving San Antonio their fourth NBA title. It was also the last Finals until 2019 where the team from the East had home-court advantage. As of 2023, this was the last time that an Eastern Conference team was favored to win over the West. The two teams met again in the Finals a year later with the Spurs winning the rematch in five games over the Heat. ![]() It also marked the last time that the Finals used the 2–3–2 format which was introduced in 1985, after which it reverted to the 2–2–1–1–1 format for the first time since 1984. This marked the last NBA Finals played during the tenure of NBA commissioner David Stern. Game 1 of the Finals took place on June 6, while Game 7 did on June 20. Duncan became the fourth player in NBA history to make a Finals appearance in three different decades. The Finals also set a record for most international players on either Finals roster (10). The Heat won both games that they played against the Spurs during the regular season: 105–100 on November 29 and 88–86 on March 31.įour former NBA Finals MVPs played in the series (the Spurs' Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, and the Heat's Dwyane Wade and LeBron James), the most since 1987. Additionally, the Warriors joined the Heat as the only teams of the 2010s decade to repeat as champions. The Heat became the first Eastern Conference team since the 19 Bulls, the first since the 20 Lakers, and the last until the 20 Golden State Warriors to repeat as champions. This series was the first time that San Antonio had played in the NBA Finals without home–court advantage, as Miami had home–court advantage based on their league–best regular season record of 66–16 compared to the Spurs' 58–24 (which coincidentally is also the same record as their 2007 championship run). Miami had home–court advantage based on their league–best regular season record. They were also the second team in six seasons to reach three consecutive Finals after the Lakers did so from 2008– 2010. It was the Heat's third consecutive NBA Finals appearance (and fourth overall), the first Eastern Conference team to achieve that since the Chicago Bulls ( 1996– 1998). The Spurs had won all of their previous four Finals appearances (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007), with this series being the first time in franchise history that they had lost in the NBA Finals. This series marked the fifth time that the Spurs have made the NBA Finals since 1999, second–most for any franchise in that span (behind the Los Angeles Lakers). James also joined Jordan as the only players to win back–to–back championships, MVPs, and Finals MVPs. LeBron James was named the NBA Finals MVP for the second straight time, making him the fifth player joining Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant to win back–to–back Finals MVPs. The Heat were favored to repeat as champions over the Spurs. ![]() The defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeated the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs in seven games to win their second consecutive championship in a row, and third overall in franchise history. The 2013 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2012–13 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. ![]()
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