By Sean Highkin

Too many modern sports rivalries are manufactured. They’re either forced continuations of ages-old feuds that current players couldn’t care less about, or, even worse, they are artificial versions, inflated by players’ innocuous quotes that have been blown out of proportion by the media.

On the other hand, legitimate rivalries can exist without much history or animosity. This year’s Finals rematch between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs is that kind of rivalry: borne by the greatness of each team, fueled by last season’s seven-part epic, and considerably enhanced by the historical implications for the winner.

Everyone who matters in this series — players and coaches, alike — has skin in the game. LeBron James can say that he doesn’t care what people think of his legacy, but “Global Icons” don’t fall to 2-3 in Championship series when history is there to be made. Deep down, he knows this. He’s far too self-aware not to, let alone the major implications for Miami’s franchise if the Heat don’t retain their crown. Similarly, the stakes are high for Tim Duncan, too. As his legendary career winds down, back-to-back Finals losses to LeBron is surely not the epitaph he wants.

While much has been made of the so-called “war of words” leading up to Thursday’s Game 1, incessant sensationalizing by the media betrays the respect that these two formidable clubs have for one another. In some ways, the clubs’ mutual admiration makes this rivalry more legitimate than other allegedly antagonistic ones. So what if Duncan said that he is glad the Spurs are playing the Heat again. That’s not an insult to Miami, and it certainly is not an insinuation that San Antonio will have an easier time against Miami than it would have had against Indiana. Duncan is not only one of the league’s elder statesmen, but he’s also a student of the game’s history. He knows that beating the Heat for title No. 5 would be far more significant in the game’s annals than beating any other Eastern Conference foe.

LeBron and the Heat, on the other hand, welcome the opposing Spurs because they want to prove they were the better team last year, not simply the lucky beneficiaries of Ray Allen’s series-saving, miracle three-pointer in Game 6.

While NBA fans should know better than to write off the aging Spurs, there are no guarantees in the loaded West that this version will get another title shot. Both Duncan and head coach Gregg Popovich already are all-time greats, but a fifth championship together moves them into Showtime Lakers territory. For players like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili (he of last season’s roller-coaster, injury-riddled performance against the Heat), a win would further validate their statuses in the game. And for emerging stars like Kawhi Leonard, this series represents a rare opportunity to make his everlasting mark.

For Miami, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The Heat already are the first franchise not named the Lakers or Celtics to ever advance to four straight Finals, but no team has three-peated since the 2000-02 Lakers and, before them, Jordan’s Bulls. A win by the Heat, and LeBron could cross yet another Kobe Bryant and MJ accomplishment off his list. James may not care — he does — but extinguishing his historical shortcomings sure would make dealing with the media easier for the man from now on.

A three-peat also would put the perennially under-appreciated Erik Spoelstra in rare company, joining Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson and John Kundla as the only coaches ever to win three NBA Championships in-a-row. (Retaining the title would also go a long way in ensuring that the Heat core stays together for at least one more year. Even if they lose, it’s still considered unlikely that Miami will self-detonate in the off-season, but surely, Pat Riley would like his chances better if a post-series parade runs through South Beach.)

Al of this sets the stage for a massive showdown, even as these teams hadn’t crossed paths much prior to last season. Not all rivalries have to be timeless. Some of the best ones are very much of their eras. Nobody in either organization considers the modern-day Bulls and Pistons rivals, but that doesn’t diminish the legendary meetings of the Bad Boy Pistons and Jordan’s Bulls nearly a quarter century ago.

This rivalry may not continue past this season — it doesn’t have to. Rivalries needn’t be Lakers-Celtics or Yankees-Red Sox to be worth celebrating. Those rivalries are defined by their franchises and their cities. This one is defined by its participants.

Even if Heat-Spurs doesn’t become an institution, the match-up is already significant in the game’s history. The winners get to write it.

@highkin is a freelance basketball writer whose work has appeared at Sports on Earth, Hardwood Paroxysm, and USA Today Sports.