2023 National Siblings Day: How many siblings are in each sports league?

The holiday weekend continued on Monday with National Siblings Day, a time to scour through old photos and restart family group chats.

No where is the sibling dynamic as first opponents and fierce supporters felt more than in sports, with countless family matchups taking place every year.

Just in the past year we saw two historic matchups between brothers.

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In the MLB, Austin and Aaron Nola became the first pair of brothers to face off as an opposing pitcher and hitter in the postseason. Over in the NFL, Jason and Travis Kelce became the first brothers to go against each other in the Super Bowl.

Looking ahead, there’s a chance the NBA postseason could include a clash of siblings as soon as this weekend. If the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks lose their first play-in game but win the second they’ll take on the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks in a matchup between Aaron Holiday and older brother, Jrue.

Later this summer, the USWNT will head to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup with a roster that could potentially feature sisters Kristie and Sam Mewis. Back in 2019, Kristie was left off the roster in France while younger sister Sam went on to start for the championship team. Four years later Sam remains sidelined as she recovers from knee surgery while Kristie looks in good position to make the team. We’re still a couple months away from the official roster drop, but that’s definitely a storyline to keep an eye on.

In honor of National Siblings Day on April 10, here’s a more detailed breakdown of some athletic siblings.

How many siblings are there in the NHL?

The NHL’s 31 pairs of brothers is far-and-away the most of any major sports leagues.

The ice also happens to be a great place to relive those sibling rivalries, with fights becoming a staple of the sport.

Nothing like mom and dad watching on as the Joseph brothers take high sticking penalties against each other. 😂 pic.twitter.com/UVyqWEjNDU
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 21, 2023

The complete list of brothers in the NHL this season is:

Joey Anderson and Mikey Anderson
Morgan Barron and Justin Barron
Jordie Benn and Jamie Benn
Jesper Boqvist and Adam Boqvist
Kirby Dach and Colton Dach
Hayden Fleury and Cale Fleury
Nick Foligno and Marcus Foligno
Cal Foote and Nolan Foote
Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes
Ryan Johansen and Lucas Johansen
Seth Jones and Caleb Jones
Mathieu Joseph and Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Charlie Lindgren and Ryan Lindgren
Michael McLeod and Ryan McLeod
William Nylander and Alexander Nylander
Darren Raddysh and Taylor Raddysh
Brett Ritchie and Nick Ritchie
Jason Robertson and Nick Robertson
Buddy Robinson and Eric Robinson
Luke Schenn and Brayden Schenn
Brendan Smith and Reilly Smith
Givani Smith and Gemel Smith
Eric Staal, Marc Staal and Jordan Staal
Riley Stillman and Chase Stillman
Michael Stone and Mark Stone
Ryan Strome and Dylan Strome
Evgeny Svechnikov and Andrei Svechnikov
Chris Tanev and Brandon Tanev
Tage Thompson and Tyce Thompson
Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk
James van Riemsdyk and Trevor van Riemsdyk

How many siblings are there in the NBA?

In a very distant second is the NBA which started the 2022-23 campaign with 13 brothers in the league.

Among these 13 are several sets of teammates including Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks, Evan and Isaiah Mobley of the Cavaliers and Franz and Mortiz Wagner of the Magic.

The complete list of brothers in the NBA this season is:

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kostas Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Julian Champagnie and Justin Champagnie
Stephen Curry and Seth Curry
Juancho Hernangomez and Willy Hernangomez
Aaron Holiday, Jrue Holiday and Justin Holiday
Tre Jones and Tyus Jones
Caleb Martin and Cody Martin
Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez
Caleb Martin and Cody Martin
Jaden McDaniels and Jalen McDaniels
Evan Mobley and Isaiah Mobley
Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris
Franz Wagner and Mortiz Wagner

How many siblings are there in the NFL?

What the NFL lacks in numbers it makes up for in star power.

Among the 21 players with siblings who made NFL rosters last season, twelve of them are Pro-Bowlers. This includes the Kelces, Bosas and Diggs who have all multiple Pro Bowls to their name.

The complete list of brothers in the NFL last season is:

Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce
J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt and Derek Watt
Nick Bosa and Joey Bosa
Dalvin Cook and James Cook
Romeo Okwara and Julian Okwara
Stefon Diggs and Trevon Diggs
Zack Martin and Nick Martin
Tremaine Edmunds and Terrell Edmunds
Equanimeous St. Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown
Cameron Heyward and Connor Heyward

How many siblings are there in the MLB?

It might come as a surprise to some that the league with the richest history currently has the fewest sets of siblings.

There have been 438 groups of brothers in the MLB, according to Baseball Almanac. This includes 20 families with three or more children who debut in the majors, headlined by the Delahanty family who had five sons make the major leagues. Despite the tradition, it’s been nearly 23 years since more than three brothers made the big leagues.

There are currently only eight brothers on major league rosters to start the 2023 season.

The complete list of brothers in the MLB this season are:

Bo Naylor and Josh Naylor
Edwin Diaz and Alexis Diaz
Nick Maton and Phil Maton
Julio Urias and Luis Urias
William Contreras and Willson Contreras
Taylor Rogers and Tyler Rogers
Aaron Nola and Austin Nola
Yuli Gurriel and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

How many siblings are there in the WNBA?

There were three pairs of sisters in the WNBA this past year -- Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike, Katie Lou and Karlie Samuelson and Erica McCall and DeWanna Bonner.