SAN ANTONIO — There was an air of lightness during Wednesday’s NBA Finals media day. These are not teams playing under the weight of championship expectations.

Legacies already have been secured, the Miami Heat with this 4-for-4 run to the NBA Finals with the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the San Antonio Spurs with the five championship banners already on display at the AT&T Center.

This best-of-seven series that opens tonight on the Spurs’ court is about furthering legends. These are not the 2012 Finals, when the Heat entered off the doubts of their 2011 Finals failure against the Dallas Mavericks. This is not Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili with anything left to prove.

And yet, there also was an edge to Wednesday’s dialogue, with the teams’ 2013 Finals matchup distilled by some over the past 12 months to nothing more than Ray Allen’s corner 3-pointer that forced overtime in Game 6 of last year’s Finals.

To Heat players, overlooked in the equation is how they had to hold on to win in overtime of that Game 6, then continue the comeback from a 3-2 series deficit with a Game 7 victory that featured its own stirring fourth-quarter comeback.

“We feel slighted in the fact that … it went seven,” James said. “It went seven. It wasn’t like it was 3-0 and, you know, they had us in Game 4 and we took it and won four straight.

“Both teams put themselves in a position to win an NBA championship, and we just happened to make one or two more plays to win it. But at the end of the day it doesn’t take away that we did win last year.”

Wade also bristled, albeit with a smile, when asked about how last year’s Finals have become reduced to Allen making or missing that 3-pointer from the right corner off a Bosh rebound.

“We’re thankful for, you know, Ray Allen making that shot,” Wade said, “but there were so many other things that had to play right for us to win that game. So you need a little luck, both ways, even to be in the Finals.

“We were recipient of luck in that moment, but we won the championship.”

Allen said he never looked at the 2013 championship as a singular moment, as his moment.

“The end result, people think about the shot going in,” he said. “But you know, me, personally, I think about everything that happens and I tell people that, you know, Chris Bosh getting the rebound was just as important as me making that shot.

“So many things had to happen. LeBron had to make a (3-pointer) previous to that. So many things had to happen.”

James said he sees the 2013 Finals, the Heat’s second consecutive championship, providing only so much fuel for the Spurs.

“I think motivation can only go so far,” he said. “How much motivation can carry you to a championship? I’m not sure. At the end of the day, five, 10 guys on the floor, three refs and one basketball. You gotta make plays.

“I can’t shoot the ball and say motivation will make it (go) in. I can’t sit in the lane and take a charge and say, ‘Motivation, let me get this call.’”

Duncan agreed, even after he lamented his errant point-blank attempt late in last year’s Game 7.

“I don’t know if we’re going in with a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “We’re going in this trying to win a championship. We understand what happened last year, we understand how close we got, and we’re disappointed in that respect. But we’re ecstatic that we have an opportunity to change that.”

So, no, Parker said, there have not been video reviews in recent days from Games 6 and 7 of the 2013 Finals. And, no, Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard said, he has not paused to reflect on his critical missed free throws that opened the door for Allen’s heroics.

Allen said, if anything, his shot was more a teachable moment for the Spurs than any type of motivation.

“This is a whole new year,” he said. “I think it’s helped them going into this year (to) shape how they approach the season and think about the things they need to do to continue to win.

“It’s textbook to talk about things that you do and don’t do to win games on every level. So, if anything, I think it helped them, and they know what they need to focus on and what they need to do.”