And then there were two. The team everybody loves to hate and the team everybody hates to love. Sandy South Beach and Sandy Desert of ole Alamo. The primed force of superstars—surrounded with selfless complementary role players—and the tenure of primed force threaded throughout with a roster so balanced it makes Olympic gymnasts look wobbly. Miami and San Antonio, Part 2: The Redemption.

Let’s flash back to the first installment of the Finals rematch, about this time last year, a time in which LeBron James was the best player on the planet, Tony Parker was impossible to keep out of the paint, Chris Bosh was inconsistent, Dwyane Wade’s knee was bipolar, and Tim Duncan was The Big Fundamental, the generic Mr. 20 & 10, and as consistent as Hawaii temperatures—well, Duncan was Duncan.

Nothing has changed in the individual game-changers, the headline-drawing aspects of the matchup, yet the plot of the upcoming Round of June is shaped up to be much grander than last year’s.

The stakes? Higher. The potential storybook finish to Duncan’s career? At its final chapter(s). LeBron’s legacy enrichment with a three-peat hanging in the balance? Ready to be engraved in history. San Antonio’s era of prominence? Possibly nearing an end. Miami’s future, as free agency opens up their roster this summer? Very much reliant on this series.

Everything seems so much more of a pivotal week or two in basketball as a redemption from the past, a fight for the present, and a telling moment for the fate of the future. Let the present the world has been given this week be unwrapped and begin.