Caleb and Malek Mims have had plenty of hours over the years to hone their basketball skills against each other. While they would never admit who has won more one-on-one matchups in the driveway or who might be a better player, the twin brothers don’t need to prove that to each other.

After spearheading Freedom to their first district championship since 1976 this past winter, the Mims’ brothers cemented themselves as the most talented duo on the hardwood this past season and come away as Freedom’s Co-Male Athletes of the Year for the Bethlehem Press and Lehigh Valley Health Network.

The legacy they leave the Patriot program is one that may never be replicated from a pair of twins, as they depart as two of the best players ever in program history. The duo walks away as the No. 2 and No. 3 scoring leaders in school history, as Caleb leaves with 1,201 career-points, followed by Malek’s 1,119 career-points.

Caleb also carries the school record for most three-pointers in a career with 138, while Malek takes home the school record for the most steals in a season with 112 and for a career (270).

“I think when I look back on my career, I’m glad that I don’t have any regrets,” said Caleb. “We started from the ground up and worked through everything to become the best we could be. The stats are nice, but winning districts was the best thing that we take away.”

After losing four-straight games to end the regular season and their EPC quarterfinal contest with Liberty, Freedom’s hopes of winning a district title didn’t look favorable.

Instead, they regrouped and ran the table en route to topping Northampton 58-48 for the 6A crown. Caleb and Malek, who averaged 18 and 16 points respectively during the season, scored 17 combined points in the final to help end a 44-year district championship drought for the program.

“The past four years, all we talked about was winning a district title,” said Malek. “When the football team won our junior year, we knew we needed to get one. Then the soccer teams won and tennis won, so we felt some pressure to do it. We also knew we couldn’t end our high school careers after that losing streak at the end of the season. I think those losses really helped us because we came back refreshed and motivated.”

While both brothers admitted that winning the district championship was the highlight of their career, beating Allen in the semifinals might have been a close second.

“The celebration after the district championship was great,” said Malek, “but beating Allen was a great feeling. It brought us one game closer to our goal.”

The next step for the Mims’ brothers is heading to prep school for a year in Massachusetts with the goal of getting scholarships to play Division-I basketball together.

“It’s our goal to play in college together,” Malek said. “Some people think we’re too small, but we want to prove them wrong.”

While Freedom’s season ended in the second round of the PIAA tournament with a loss to Reading, the program will always cherish the championship banner from this season and they’ll have Caleb and Malek to remember for that.

“I want people to remember that we never quit,” Caleb said. “We just stayed focused and kept our eyes on the prize.”