In the digital world of “NBA2K,” Guillermo Sosa — an undersized point guard with a hot-pink shooting sleeve — regularly turned games into one-man highlight reels.

“He was tough,” Utah shooting guard Donovan Mitchell said of Sosa, a player he created as a kid on his favorite video game. “He averaged about 75 points a game and never passed the ball.”

Mitchell might not have realized it at the time, but Sosa embodied the bravado and tenacity he wanted to make part of his own playing style. For hours on end, Mitchell would play game after game on “NBA2K” at the house of his best friend, Eric Paschall, trying to break down Paschall’s created player — a version of himself — one-on-one with Sosa.

From an early age, Mitchell and Paschall bonded over being a couple of the only players on their Harlem-based AAU team from a place their teammates called “upstate.” Never mind that it was only an hour drive away. Dogged by the perception that they were softer because they grew up in the suburbs, Mitchell and Paschall made a point to outwork their peers, transforming themselves into NBA players.

Less than two years removed from watching Mitchell finish second in Rookie of the Year voting to Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, Paschall, 23, is emerging as a dark-horse candidate for All-Rookie first team. A versatile power forward who can defend multiple positions, knock down the open 3-pointer and cause matchup problems inside, Paschall has become somewhat of a go-to option for the injury-thinned Warriors.

Over his past four games, he is averaging 22.5 points on 48.4% shooting. For Golden State (2-8) to have a chance Monday night at Chase Center against Mitchell’s Jazz, Paschall, who heard 40 names called before his in June’s NBA draft, needs to channel his inner Guillermo Sosa and dominate for stretches.

This will be must-watch TV for the Mitchell and Paschall families. If not for their parents trading off car-pool responsibilities into New York City for AAU practices and games, Mitchell and Paschall might not have joined Elton Brand and Ben Gordon as the rare Westchester County, N.Y., natives to reach the sport’s highest level.

“Our families together have done a lot for each other,” Paschall, who expects to return Monday from a right hip contusion that sidelined him for Saturday’s loss in Oklahoma City, said Sunday afternoon at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. “Carpooling and staying at each other’s crib, whatever it takes for the two Westchester kids to get it done. That’s the cool part.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what makes this whole thing special,” Mitchell interjected. “For us being the two that really made it, that was really neat because you wouldn’t have expected the two Westchester kids.”

Mitchell and Paschall were 6 when they met while attending services with their families at Union Baptist Church in White Plains, N.Y. Two years later, Paschall arrived at a tryout for the AAU’s Riverside Hawks in Harlem to find Mitchell getting up shots.

It didn’t take long for the two to become inseparable. When not dueling each other in “NBA2K,” they were going head-to-head in the Hawks’ gymnasium. While riding in the back seat of their parents’ cars, Mitchell and Paschall allowed themselves to daydream, talking about making millions someday in the NBA.

This might have seemed a bit far-fetched to those who watched them play complementary roles for the Hawks. But though their peers’ abilities plateaued, Mitchell and Paschall blossomed into two of New York’s top recruits.

In search of better competition, they transferred to New England prep schools, with Mitchell landing at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., and Paschall going to St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Conn. Of the three times they faced each other, Mitchell won twice. In the prep-school national championship game, Mitchell face-guarded Paschall, holding him to four points to ensure a Brewster Academy victory.

“They’ve always been competitive with one another,” said Juan Paschall, Eric’s father. “The first one to dunk, the first one to hit the 3-pointer. Just ultra-competitive, always pushing each other and, at the same time, always having each other’s back.”

As Mitchell parlayed a two-year stint at Louisville into a lottery selection with the Jazz, he seldom went more than a couple of days without texting Paschall. Last season, as Paschall led Villanova to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Mitchell often reminded him, “You belong in the league.”

In the lead-up to June’s draft, Mitchell publicly touted Paschall as a sleeper pick. After watching his best buddy fall to No. 41 at a draft party in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., Mitchell grabbed the microphone and, in front of dozens of family and friends, said, “Bro, you worked your a— off to get here. Don’t let 41 get in your head, bro.”

Last Monday, while Mitchell watched on TV from one of his assistant coaches’ houses, Paschall posted 34 points and 13 rebounds to will the Warriors to a win over Portland. What most impressed Mitchell was Paschall’s confidence. Just four-plus months after sliding to the second round, he was attacking more proven players in isolation situations.

This aggressive style was forged in video-game sparring sessions. On “NBA2K,” no one cared that Mitchell and Paschall were from Westchester County, where the caliber of competition was considered vastly inferior to the big city. All that mattered was their play.

“In New York, if you’re not from the city, you’re from upstate,” Mitchell said. “There was always a stigma. City guys are the grit, can handle the basketball and can hoop. Westchester guys can only just shoot. They’re not physical.

“When you’re growing up, you think about it. Playing the video game, making players. It’s kind of crazy that we’re where we are today. I think it’ll be a wow factor for sure (Monday), especially for our families.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron