The De’Aaron Fox vs Lonzo Ball rivalry finally sees an NBA court

Alas, the De’Aaron Fox vs Lonzo Ball matchup will have to wait for another day.

The good news is the Las Vegas League has a tournament, so it’s very possible that Fox faces Ball later this week.

The De’Aaron Fox vs Lonzo Ball rivalry is already off to a hot start in their young, bright careers. The two played each other twice at the collegiate level and both were two of the top-five players taken in this years NBA draft. And the two will finally share an NBA court for the first time ever tonight.

Remember way back in December when UCLA knocked off Kentucky? The Bruins came into Rupp and handed Kentucky an unusual loss at Home and solidified Lonzo Ball as a potential threat to the Wildcats and the rest of the country. That was only the beginning of the Fox-Ball rivalry. Fox finished that game with 20 points and 9 assists, seemingly gaining the attention of the rest of the country that he outplayed Ball who finished with 14 points and 7 assists. But no-one was ready to say that Fox was better just quite yet.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Fast forward to March 24th, 2017 in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Lonzo’s dad, LaVar, had been doing his usual talking about the opponent of his sons team, but this time, it was De’Aaron Fox who got the attention of LaVar. Fox torched UCLA and Lonzo, dropping 39 points and 4 assists en route to a Kentucky win and causing the Twitter World to go into a tailspin of memes for Lonzo and praise for Fox. De’Aaron later on would say he was “trying to shut LaVar up.”

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Then the question came up; Could De’Aaron Fox really be picked ahead of Lonzo Ball in the NBA Draft?

While the question leading up to the draft was whether or not the Lakers would take Ball or Fox with the number two pick, as the number one pick seemed clear cut it would Markelle Fultz at this point, people still favored Ball over Fox. Sure, Lonzo has a better jumper and arguably might be a better passer, but De’Aaron brings you speed, quickness, defense, hustle, the ability to get to the rim, and the will to win.

With the first of hopefully several meetings in their NBA careers tonight, could we be seeing the start of the NBA’s next great rivalry? Who knows at this point, but one thing is for sure, both are the future of the NBA with the future of two franchises weighing heavily on them. Buckle up, it should be a fun ride with these two.