ESPN to air first Ball vs. Ball matchup on January 8

The NBA unveiled the first half of its regular season schedule on Friday for the 2020-2021 regular season. The schedule runs from December 22 to March 4, followed by the All Star break. The second half of the regular season schedule is expected to drop sometime in the latter part of the first half.

The schedule is loaded with choice matchups, and one of the most high profile comes a week into the new year and airs on national television. On January 8th, the New Orleans Pelicans host the Charlotte Hornets on ESPN, with tip set for 7:30 p.m. The Pelicans were the original Hornets before relocating and eventually changing their name.

The bigger storyline though is sibling vs. sibling. The Hornets spent the No. 3 overall pick on LaMelo Ball in this year’s NBA Draft. Meanwhile, on July 6, 2019, the Pelicans acquired Lonzo Ball from the Los Angeles Lakers in a move that sent Anthony Davis to LA.

Lonzo is the Pelicans starting point guard, while LaMelo is bigger and could see some time at several positions for the Hornets. Although LaMelo is a rookie, he will likely be seeing significant minutes pretty quickly. Even though he might not play exclusively at point guard, it’s a safe bet we’ll see LaMelo squaring off against Lonzo at some point in this game.

You just know LaVar is loving this and ESPN is expecting some sibling rivalry on the court.