What makes this year extra special for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is that he gets to play in the  Western Conference Finals alongside his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The cousins are rising stars in their own right in the NBA, with Alexander-Walker making a name for himself with the Minnesota Thunder and Gilgeous-Alexander being named the league's MVP this year.

“It’s hard to even explain,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters prior to the start of the season. “If you know how close we are. He’s like my second brother. We’ve been through every stage of life together.”

Gilgeous-Alexander and Alexander-Walker grew up together in Hamilton, Ontario, and later moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., during their junior and senior year in high school to play basketball.

After Monday night's Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder won, 128-126. The Thunder currently hold a 3-1 series lead. Gilgeous-Alexander expressed to The Oklahoman how it's a dream to play with his cousin at this magnitude.

“He got the better of me sometimes, I got the better of him,” Gilgeous-Alexander told the publication on Monday, May 26. “Stuff we’ve dreamt about for our whole lives, and it’s crazy that it’s come to fruition.”

He shared that no matter the outcome of the finals, they are making family history to be told for generations.

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“When it’s all said and done, we’ll definitely have plenty of stories about it,” Shai told The Oklahoman after his team’s win Monday.

Vaughn Alexander, Shai’s dad and Nickeil’s uncle, has also weighed in on the prominence of what this holds for their family.

“It feels like you’ve got to wake up and pinch yourself to make sure the dream’s not gonna be over,” Shai's father told the outlet. “But when you put so much hard work in, you know it’s not a dream.”

“I’m just so proud of both of them,” Vaughn said.

The cousins will play each other in Game 5 of the series tomorrow May 28 and if there is a Game 6 and Game 7, they will play Friday, May 30 and then lastly on Sunday, June 1. If either team wins the NBA Finals, they will be giving their franchise the first-ever win.