It was very much a family affair for two opposing players during Sky Sports' Saturday Primetime clash between the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker spent their childhoods hooping on the courts in their native Canada battling against each other and the two cousins were finally able to bring that friendly family rivalry to an NBA court at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The pair also played together in teams all the way from fourth grade through to high school, where they both attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Since then though, they had never shared a court in a competitive game - until Saturday night that is, as the Thunder claimed a 115-104 victory in front of their home crowd.
The elder cousin by just under a couple of months, Gilgeous-Alexander has spoken previously of the rivalry between the pair but how it has seen them become not just cousins, but best friends.
"We've almost fought before, almost punched each other in the face," said Gilgeous-Alexander in an interview back in February.
"Me and Nickeil are like brothers, and if anybody knows us they know that about us.
"Having a brother my age and is damn-near just as good at basketball we used to go at it all the time."
Alexander-Walker said: "Since birth, that's like a twin brother to me, couldn't be any closer. One of my best friends, if not my closest friend."
Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as a real threat for the Thunder since his summer move from the Clippers and top-scored with 23 points in this game, going 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. The sophomore also added eight rebounds and four assists for good measure in 35-and-a-half minutes on court.
Rookie Alexander-Walker, who was selected 17th overall by the Brooklyn Nets in this past June's draft before seeing his draft rights traded to the Atlanta Hawks and then flipped again to the Pelicans, logged just under eight minutes on court and scored four points.
Despite the discrepancy in points scored and minutes on court last night, there remains a close competitive relationship between the two elite basketball players which results primarily from rigorous parental encouragement during their youth which served to stoke their personal rivalry.
"His dad would always make us play one-on-one and he would force us to compete as tough as possible," said Alexander-Walker.
"His dad always used to say, 'Don't let Shai score on you,' and 'Shai you're supposed to do your best to score on him'.
"He would really make us go at each other."
With a nod towards his cousin's abilities and that competitive fire which has seen them drive each other on, Gilgeous-Alexander added. "Growing up with a guy like that will give you a competitive edge."
Indeed, and first chalk mark goes to Gilgeous-Alexander in terms of NBA contests between the pair but his cousin has all the tools to make an impact in the league as well, as Alexander-Walker showed in college at Virginia Tech where he was named Third-team All-ACC after averaging 16.2 points and four assists per game in his sophomore season with the Hokies.
It could well be that this is just the first of many, many battles between the pair on the NBA hardwood and may make for a fascinating league subplot for years to come.