3 reasons the upcoming nationally televised clash of two young titans will be must-see

2. Rivalry week boost

The game comes in the middle of the NBA's newly introduced Rivalry Week. Fans across the league don't always agree on everything. In fact, they probably disagree with 80% of what a fan of any other team says. With team-colored goggles, it is hard to see anything outside of your own spectrum. Yet many will agree that rivalries were a fun part of professional basketball, and that aspect has been sorely missed over the last decade.

Kevin Durant will tell you that friends perform harder when trying to one-up each other. Whether that's true or not is a matter of opinion. What's not debatable is the added aspect that true rivalries bring to competitive sports. Those contentious matchups were looked forward to by fans as coming out as the victor often felt like slaying a fabled dragon on an exciting quest for the gold whether you're an actual championship contender or not.

That part of the NBA played a focal part in the growth of the NBA in the 80s, 90s, and beyond. But the most important part of rivalries is having impactful, league-renowned players on the competing teams. National audiences don't care if the teams are full of role-players, but with players like Wembanyama and Holmgren, the intrigue will be there for every game and this contest is an important, early step in fueling that.