This Final Four got it right

When you hear Final Four, you immediately think of March Madness...and the NCAA college basketball tournament. And for good reason, the men's national tournament is one of the highlights of the sports calendar each year. But for all of the fanfare surrounding the annual spring event, it rarely delivers on it base premise....a match up of the four best teams in the country. In fact, the NCAA's Final Four has featured four number 1 seeds just once...in the last 35 years! (2008).

Amid all of the talk of Donald Sterling, Johnny Football, and Michael Sam, the NBA has quietly put together one of the best post seasons in the history of any sport...at least that I can recall. And unlike their college counterpart, the NBA title will be decided by the four best teams in the league this year.

San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Indiana, and Miami were the four best teams in the league all season. They will duke it out to determine who's the best in the world...and that's how it should be. It also proves that the seven game playoff format is the best and only way to determine which team is truly better.

But I digress.

Aside from the four best teams, featuring the best athletes in the world, locking horns to decide this year's championship...the outcome of this Final Four could reshape the league as we know it.

There's much more at stake than a title this year.

For the two time defending champion Miami Heat, a dynasty is on the line. A Three-Peat would put LeBron and Company in rarefied air. A loss could blow the team up completely. The same could be said for the San Antonio Spurs, who came so close to getting their 5th title last year. Their Big 3 (Duncan, Parker, Ginobli) are getting long in the tooth, so another near miss could have Timmy and Company assessing some things in the off season. A fifth title though, would certainly seal the deal on their dynasty. Why not retire on top? And what could that mean for coach Gregg Popovich? Could he ride off into the sunset as well? Speculation has always been that he will.

For OKC and Indiana, a different kind of legacy is on the line. The Pacers could not only win their first NBA title, they could end the Heat's dynasty run...and ultimately break them up all together. For league MVP Kevin Durant, the only thing missing from his resume is a ring. If he comes up short again, pressure would (and should) mount to epic proportions. Talks of..."can he win in OKC?" would certainly ramp up. And LeBron's "decision" could be validated. As the Heat and Spurs have shown, you need at least three great players to win it all in today's league.

 A win? Now that's a different story. 

The city of OKC will be rewarded for their loyalty with their first NBA title, and talks of "who's best in the world" would reignite. And who knows if that could also affect LeBron's decision as well. There's nothing more competitive than a rivalry among friends.

However this plays out, we are sure to have a smorgasbord of story lines and drama as the fallout. And did I mention these were the four best teams in the league? 

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