The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are currently the two best teams in the NBA. There’s no doubt about that. The Lakers top the ultra-tough Western Conference, while the Bucks have been running roughshod over the entire league and have the best record.

The most intriguing storyline of today’s game was the battle between the present and future of the NBA. James, who is still playing at a world-beater level at the age of 35, is looking to add another ring to his collection, with a third team.

Antetokounmpo, who is ten years younger than James, has been a wrecking ball that has steamrolled over almost any opponent that comes in front of him. They are the two clear frontrunners for the MVP award, with James steadily building his case for the award.

Both team leaders have something to prove this season, too. James found himself in the rare position of being out of the playoffs last year, while Antetokounmpo found himself missing the NBA Finals – dropping four straight games against the Toronto Raptors after taking a 2-0 series lead.

Their first meeting of the season was a close affair too, which ended with a 104-111 victory for the Bucks.

You could feel the serious nature of the game, which was chippy from the get-go. The Bucks pulled out an early lead, but the Lakers fought back. A flagrant foul was called, hard defense was played, and the role players were just as locked in as the stars.

The Lakers managed to fight back and take a lead late in the second quarter, but the first half ended 48-48. That was an extremely low scoring half in the modern NBA, especially for two teams that are more than capable of putting up 40 points in a single quarter.

James was at his brilliant best in the second half. He dug into his bag of tricks to make stepback threes, turnaround jumpers, and more. He also helped the team by setting up the offense and grabbing rebounds where necessary. His leadership helped the Lakers open a 15-point lead in the third, giving the Bucks a tough path to a win. James’ final statline of 37 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on 12 of 21 shooting looked effortless.

Antetokounmpo started the second half quietly and couldn’t seem to find a groove. He shot well from the free throw line but couldn’t seem to get anything going on offense. He turned up in the fourth quarter, though, using his ball handling and his drives to score and set up baskets for his teammates. He finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, but looked out of sorts for most of the second half.

The Greek Freak had a scary fall in the fourth quarter after a drive, which was followed by his first two misses from the free throw line all game. His movement seemed to be affected for the rest of the game, and it also amplified his struggles from the line late in the game. Bucks fans must be hoping that the injury isn’t serious.

To be clear, a Finals series between these teams is compelling beyond their two leaders. Their second stars, Khris Middleton and Anthony Davis, are also playing at a high level and capable of winning games on their own.

Davis, especially, is a superstar in his own right that has consistently shown that he was worth trading half a roster for. He averaged 33 points and 10 rebounds in the pair of games against the Bucks this season.

This game also showed how important the role players would be in a playoff series. Donte DiVincenzo went off in the third quarter, scoring 12 of his 17 points to keep the Bucks in the game. For the Lakers, Javale McGee and Kyle Kuzma had big games, putting in max effort on both ends of the floor.

We’d all be blessed to see a seven-game series between these teams. James only has a couple of years left before he ends his first-ballot Hall of Fame career – and you want to see him play the most dominant player in the league in an NBA Finals series. He’s still setting records and is on pace to become the oldest player to ever win the assists title for the first time. Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, just keeps getting better.

The league, and all of us fans, deserve to see them match up for a title. We never had the opportunity to see James and the late Kobe Bryant battle in the finals when they were both in a position to win their conferences and we don’t want to miss a similar situation again.

With the season series tied at 1-1 after the Lakers’ 113-103 victory today, you just know that every game of that series would be an amazing battle.