LeBron James vs Steph Curry: Expect a shoot-out at the NBA Finals

The NBA Finals begin tonight and it could well come down to a shoot-out between the two best players in the league, Steph Curry and LeBron James.

In spite of an array of stars on both sides it is two Akron, Ohio, natives who could decide the 2015 champions, with James returning to his state as he looks to end Cleveland’s decades of sporting misery.

Curry was born in the state when his father Dell was playing for the Cavaliers. But the 27-year-old point guard has now established himself as the face of the Golden State Warriors and, with “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson, has established the Oakland side as the best in the league.

The Warriors enter the seven-game series as the odds-on favourites after dropping just three games against New Orleans, Memphis and Houston on their way to a first Finals appearance in 40 years. They made some of the NBA’s best players, from James Harden to Anthony Davis, look outclassed and there is a sense that a young squad led by rookie head coach Steve Kerr can dominate the league for years to come.

The well-balanced side is strong on every part of the court. MVP Curry is a thrilling presence on offence, displaying an ability to score three-pointers under incredible pressure, All-Defensive First Team Draymond Green, a candidate for the league’s most improved players this season, marshals a stingy defence that led the NBA in opponent field goal percentage.

However they will have one of their greatest challenges yet keeping out LeBron James. After four year’s of success in Miami the best player of his generation returned to the team he controversially left in 2010, determined to secure a first title championship for coach David Blatt’s squad. On his first season back in his home state James has reached his fifth consecutive NBA final, a feat not achieved since the legendary Boston Celtics sides of the 1960s.