Two of basketball's greatest players, and likely Olympic team mates, will duel in the NBA Finals when LeBron James's Miami Heat and Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder clash in the title series starting on Tuesday.

James and his Miami cohorts are returning to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals determined to deliver on their celebrated promise two years ago to produce a passel of titles after the "Big Three" of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined forces in South Beach as free agents.

The young Thunder, eager to prove their future is now, make noise with a "Big Three" of their own as Russell Westbrook and James Harden provide plenty of firepower to augment the dynamism of Durant, who at age 23 has won three NBA scoring titles.