Timberwolves rookie Jaden McDaniels said he has been watching guard Jaylen Nowell play basketball since "fourth or fifth grade" as both were growing up in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Nowell said it's actually been longer, and that he knew of McDaniels and his brother Jalen, a member of the Hornets, since Nowell was in "second or third grade."
Whenever they first encountered each other on their basketball journey, it led them to Thursday, as McDaniels and Nowell watched each other put up career highs on the same night in the Wolves' 135-105 victory over New Orleans.
McDaniels had 20 points and three blocks off the bench while Nowell filled in more than capably with the Wolves down two point guards in D'Angelo Russell (knee surgery) and Jordan McLaughlin (COVID protocols) by scoring 28 points on 11 of 13 shooting.