Heartwarming high school photo of Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk re-emerges with the former classmates on the verge of winning NBA and Stanley Cup finals
- Both players teams hold respective 3-0 championship series leads
- READ MORE: Boston Celtics close in on first NBA Championship in 16 years
- READ MORE: Ariana Grande cheers on Florida Panthers in Stanley Cup Final
A heartwarming high school photo of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk has re-emerged on social media, with both players leading their respective teams to the brink of championships.
The Celtics are up 3-0 in the NBA Finals on the Dallas Mavericks with Game 4 set for Friday night.
Tkachuk's Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night to take a 3-0 series lead.
Tatum and Tkachuk only attended Chaminade High School in the St. Louis area together for one year, but were close enough to have another classmate snap a photo of them on a school bus.
Tatum continued to star for the school's basketball team before attending Duke and now playing for the Celtics. Tkachuk left the school after his freshman year to be part of USA Hockey's development program.
A high school photo of Tkachuk and Tatum re-emerged on social media this week
Tatum is now an NBA superstar closing in on his first championship with the Boston Celtics
Oddly enough, the teams both Tatum and Tkachuk star for eliminated the hockey and basketball teams from the other's city this postseason.
Florida took the Boston Bruins out of the playoffs in the second round, while the Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in five games to open their playoff run.
Fans of the Celtics might not be too pleased with Tkachuk because of his play in the series that sent their favorite hockey team packing.
Tatum may receive more love from the South Beach crowd because not much was expected from Miami his postseason.
Tkachuk has been with the Panthers for their playoff woes, which could now lead to a title
Both Tatum and Tkachuk were blue-chip prospects entering the NBA and NHL respectively, and were first-round draft picks that have elevated their teams to near-champions.
Tkachuk was the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames, who he played for until 2022, when he was traded to the Panthers.
Only Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine have made NHL All-Star games among the five players taken ahead of Tkachuk in the draft.
Tatum was selected No 3 overall by the Celtics in the 2017 NBA Draft with Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball going in the two selections ahead of him.
During their current playoff runs, Tkachuk and Tatum have recognized the other publicly.
After all, they have known each other for well over a dozen years, even if they shared the halls at Chaminade High School together for only one year.
