It’s official. The 2010 NBA Finals will pit Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The announcement comes at least a month earlier than expected. The NBA said its reasoning for the early announcement is to “allow fans the opportunity” to plan ahead. “We have always been a league that prides itself on being fan-oriented and we thought that allowing fans the opportunity to plan ahead would help them to have a better chance of attending a finals game, or watching it on TV,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The NBA also said that the way in which they pick the final two teams has not changed, that the Lakers and Cavaliers were picked using the same formula that has been in effect since 1983. “The reasoning hasn’t changed, just the timing. We are still basing the picks on a combination of home and road attendance, apparel sales and TV ratings. We are still the only league that believes in giving fans the games they obviously want to see,” Stern said.

The NBA is still encouraging fans to watch the rest of the NBA playoffs, pointing to the fact that fans are still unsure of how either team makes the playoffs. “If I had no idea who was winning I’d still want to watch them. I mean we have some really sweet games coming up. Just wait for the Cavs game on May 12. Lebron James is going to make a sweet shot at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter. You won’t wanna miss it,” Stern said.

The NBA Finals are set to begin June 1 in Los Angeles.