(My Sportsbook) - The San Antonio Spurs begin defense of their NBA crown tonight when they take on the Phoenix Suns at the SBC Center in the season opener for both teams.

The Spurs tied the Dallas Mavericks for the best record in the NBA last season by posting their first 60-win campaign since 1995. San Antonio then went on to win their second title in five years by defeating the New Jersey Nets in six games in the NBA Finals. The Spurs are set to receive their championship rings during a special ceremony tonight.

Tim Duncan was named MVP of the Finals after capturing his second straight regular season MVP. Gregg Popovich, who enters his eighth season as the Spurs' coach, added to the team's abundance of hardware by collecting the NBA Coach of the Year Award.

But San Antonio refused to rest on its laurels and instead chose to become one of the most active participants in the offseason.

Despite failing to obtain Jason Kidd, the Spurs re-signed Duncan and found a more-than-adequate replacement for the retired David Robinson in former Minnesota center Radoslav Nesterovic. San Antonio also brought in free agents Robert Horry and Anthony Carter and acquired Ron Mercer and Hedo Turkoglu in a three-team trade that also involved Sacramento and Indiana.

Point guard Tony Parker is coming off a breakout year for the Spurs, be is expected to miss the first two games of this season because of a sprained left ankle.

The Suns returned to the postseason in 2003 after a one-year hiatus, but were ousted in the first round by these same Spurs in six tough games.

Rookie phenom Amare Stoudemire, who was drafted by the Suns out of high school, stole all the headlines in Phoenix last year. He appeared in all 82 games, including 71 starts, and averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest to earn Rookie of the Year honors.

The 20-year-old Stoudemire is the muscle in one of the deadliest trios in the NBA along with All-Stars Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion and the three should only improve this season.

Phoenix made some minor offseason moves. The Suns sent big men Jake Tsakalidis and Bo Outlaw to Memphis in exchange for reserve guard Brevin Knight to free up some money. The team also drafted forward Zarko Cabarkapa and acquired the rights to guard Leandrinho Barbosa from the Spurs.

Phoenix was the only team to defeat the Spurs three times in last year's regular season. The Suns' only loss came in overtime in San Antonio on January 14. However, Phoenix is just 21-37 all-time in the Alamo City.

Road play killed the Suns last season, as they posted just a 14-27 mark away from America West Arena. Meanwhile, the Spurs went 33-8 in their inaugural season at the SBC Center.

The Suns have lost four straight openers.