The quest to three-peat has been and always will be a the mark of utter dominance. No matter the sport, no matter the championship at stake, for a team to take three consecutive titles will cement its legacy as a dynasty.

Looking back we see that previous three-peat winners in the NBA have been elevated to dynasty status. The Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s accomplished the three-peat feat twice thanks to Michael Jordan. The Los Angeles Lakers of the 2000’s also performed the trifecta and came within a whisper of pulling the trick off twice in the same decade as well.

Now that the 2010’s have rolled around are we going to bear witness to yet another three-peat NBA champion. The Miami Heat certainly hope so as they will be looking to cement their team legacy and elevate their club to the ranks of dynasty by taking home yet another Larry O’Brien trophy.

The Heat will certainly be tough to beat as they have the most complete player in the league in LeBron James as well as a supporting cast that includes two current all-stars in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but teams will be gunning for the trio with everything they have. Let’s take a look at who presents this biggest challenge for the Heat on their quest for a three-peat.

Indiana Pacers

Three weeks ago many would have predicted that the Pacers would be representing the East in the NBA finals. Now that we have all borne witness to the utter collapse and dysfunction that has befallen on the team I doubt anyone is predicting an Indiana appearance in the finals. The final nail in the coffin for the Pacers could just be the fact that they lost home court advantage to the Heat should the series somehow get pushed to all seven games.

The Pacers do matchup very well against the Heat as Paul George is dynamic enough of a player that he could somewhat negate the impact of LeBron James. If David West and Roy Hibbert can put together a series of their careers it might just be enough to propel the Pacers past the Heat and into the finals. This season neither West nor Hibbert have played exceptionally well against the Heat and without a monumental effort from both this series could be nothing more than a five game tuneup for the final.

San Antonio Spurs

Well familiarity breeds contempt right? The San Antonio Spurs have to have a fair bit of contempt for the Miami Heat because they know this squad like few others. The Spurs did force a game seven last year before succombing to the Heat and along the way they pushed the Heat in ways they had never seen before.

The trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have the experience and poise of a seasoned and veteran team that they are. As much of a concern these guys are for the Heat it was the stellar play of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard that really caused the damage. It is this duo here that absolutely must step up once again if the Spurs are to be any true threat here.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers who nailed down the third seed in the Western Conference with a record that was two wins better than the Heat are going to poise the biggest challenge to the three-peat quest. Without a doubt the Clippers were a team assembled for this moment, their time to win is now as they have a healthy roster and everyone playing well at the right time.

Chris Paul is a superior player to Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin is better than Chris Bosh and the Heat have no real answer for DeAndre Jordan. After we get through the starting lineups the Clippers bench is younger, deeper and more explosive than that of the Heat.

The Clips bring Glen Davis, Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford, Danny Granger, Hedo Turkoglu and Darren Collison off the pine. The Heat will counter with an aging Ray Allen and Michael Beasley. The advantage here is clear and after long a grueling playoff series the finals can often come down to a supporting cast’s ability to spell off minutes for the starters and contribute when they are called upon.

The Miami Heat are the favorites to repeat for the simple fact that they have the best player on the planet. The same handicap was always given the Chicago Bulls with Jordan and the Lakers with Kobe but if you look back at how the Lakers and Bulls streaks ended it was at the hands of a well-balanced and deep team that was picked up by their bench when it counted most.

For this reason the Clippers will not only advance through the Western Conference to make a finals appearance they will dethrone the reigning World Champions and put an end to the Miami Heat’s quest to three-peat.