Their rivalry and friendship dates back 30 years, their sons virtually grew up together and now that all will be on show in a do-or-die battle between Mike Ellis' Warwick Senators and CJ Jackson's Perth Redbacks on Saturday night.
The remarkable contribution to WA basketball that both Mike Ellis and CJ Jackson have made continues to this day with them both coaching teams that have made the playoffs in the inaugural NBL1 West competition on top of everything they do for the game outside of that.
And it's a remarkable thing that 30 years after they first came into contact with one another when Jackson moved from California out to Perth to first play as an import with the Redbacks, that they lock horns in a cut-throat elimination final battle this Saturday night.
Ellis will lead his Senators into battle against Jackson's Redbacks at Warwick Stadium with the winner to advance to a semi-final match up the next weekend against either the Lakeside Lightning or Willetton Tigers while the loser's season will be over.
It has been quite a journey over the last 30 years that the Jackson and Ellis rivalry, friendship and bond has continued to thrive, and you might call it a rivalry, but it's one all built upon love and admiration for one another and their respective families.
Ellis didn’t come back to play in the SBL to go directly against Jackson until 1993 and over the next five years they had some fascinating battles playing direction on one another a lot of the time with Ellis that grizzled veteran point guard while Jackson was the tall playmaker modelled on his hero Magic Johnson.
The coaching battles have been on and off over the past 20 years as well while away from the SBL or NBL1 courts, both Jackson and Ellis as individuals have developed quite the special friendship, and it has grown through their respective families.
That's what will make Saturday night such a special occasion for both the Ellis and Jackson families even though their seasons are on the line and it's going to be all business.
Not only will they be butting heads up against one another as coaches, but Mike's son Cody will be captaining the Senators into battle as they attempt to back up winning last year's West Coast Classic championship while CJ will be coaching his sons Tevin and Denzel as he chases the success as coach he enjoyed as player with the Redbacks.
While four years do separate Cody and Tevin, they have also spent plenty of time getting to know one another over the years and they could very well spend a lot of Saturday night going to battle in a fascinating one-on-one match up.
Cody has had another outstanding season for the Senators highlighted by the fact that he finished third in MVP voting behind only Nic Pozoglou from the Cougars and Andrew Ferguson from the Hawks.
Tevin has been terrific for the Redbacks as that athletic playmaker capable of doing anything out on the basketball court, and playing as a tall or small setting the stage for a fascinating battle between the pair, and the sons of their great fathers.
The special feeling of coaching your son into a playoff game is something hard to top, but add in the bonus you are coaching against a lifelong friend and their son as well is something that makes this Saturday night quite the unique experience for the Ellis and Jackson families.
CJ Jackson is proud to call Mike Ellis such a good friend having now known him for the 30 years he has called Perth home, and can't wait to take him on come Saturday night with the seasons of both clubs on the line.
"We have had a bond for a long time and it goes beyond basketball. We work for this organisation called Sports Challenge and we are two of the oldest mentors so that gives us a chance to get together there," Jackson said.
"And also he works for Campion Education who supply books to schools and that includes us here at Scotch College so I get the chance to see him here through that at times.
"Then on top of that he's been supportive of Christchurch Basketball in the PSA so we get plenty of chances to see each other outside of what we are doing in this league. We have always had a really strong connection and I've always had a strong bond with the Ellis family.
"It will be great to go against him in this first round and with our sons going against each other too. It's a great opportunity."
Jackson is proud to be coaching his sons now at NBL1 level with Tevin not without a chance of getting a second crack in the NBL and Denzel still a chance to have that in his future as he finds his feet at senior level.
But making Saturday night extra special is that he will be coaching not only against Mike, but also Cody who he has known his entire life and had a special bond with him and who he rates extremely highly as a basketball player.
"It's very special to both Mike and myself to be able to coach our sons. Cody is a wonderful person first and foremost before you even get to him as a basketball player," Jackson said.
"To my surprise still to this day, I don’t know why he still isn’t in the NBL because he is still able to do so much on the court and should be there. I still remember him going firstly over to Saint Louis and playing in the finals with them and doing so well, and I've always had a good time with him.
"He has been good to me and I've been like an uncle to him so there's an opportunity there for a unique experience this week. Then it's the opposite with Mike and he has coached him at times in his younger days so the synergy between the families is pretty strong. It will be nice to see how we go this weekend."
The Redbacks will welcome back Wagner and Gattorna to the group including Tevin Jackson, Marshall Nelson and Louis Timms who are supported by Matt Giorgi, Derek Igbenoba, Denzel Jackson, Ethan Vlahov, Kyden Edman, Jordan Herbert, Lachlan Bertram and David Swaby.
While Ezra Nikora won't be available through injury, coach Jackson is excited that the Redbacks will have their key players back to make a genuine run at advancing at least beyond Saturday night.
"We've got everybody back. The only one we might not have is Ez but that's from him getting hurt in that last game, but besides from him we'll have a full line-up and we had everyone out there from Tuesday night this week," Jackson said.
"We are a different team with Wags and Zac back. We get that leadership from Joel, poise from Joel and from Zac we get a lot more explosiveness on offence as well and he has been playing very well of late as the MVP voting showed.
"And he has been watching the games even though he's been crook, and he knows where we've been falling down at and he even addressed the group on Tuesday. I'm pretty confident the guys know what's at stake and know what it will take to beat a very good Senators team."
While the Redbacks are feeling good about their prospects, there's no question the Senators will go into Saturday on their home floor expecting to win too.
They won the West Coast Classic title last year and now with a team coached by Mike Ellis and led on the floor by Cody Ellis, Caleb Davis, Ash Litterick, Justin King and 17-year-old point guard Ethan Elliott, they can't be taken lightly.
"I think they are going to be a very big test for us and I'm sure that they are like us and had hopes of finishing in the four this year," Jackson said.
"But them, like us, had key injuries along the way and probably had games that didn’t go their way which hurt so we really are in the same boat as each other to be honest.
"It's probably only fitting that we are now going up against each other too because really we're both in the same boat with how our seasons have gone."
