David Blatt is relishing the challenge of becoming the first rookie coach to win the NBA finals since 1982.

Blatt, who left Maccabi Tel Aviv after winning the European Cup last season, has defied critics by leading Cleveland Cavaliers to the showpiece final in his first campaign in the league.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s first match of a seven-game series against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Blatt admits he is looking forward to the big occasion.

He said: “I left home in Israel to come to America, and I left a lot of people that I love dearly in order to pursue a dream, in order to do something in my career that I hadn’t had the opportunity to do.

"That’s a big sacrifice on the part of my family and the place that I’m from. But it has been worth it."

After the Eastern Conference semi-final win over the Atlanta Hawks, Blatt received a call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who told him that the entire country is behind the Cavaliers.