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Childhood Buddies Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk Are Now a Game Away from NBA and NHL Championships
The childhood friends attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis before they parted ways and later headed to the pros
Sarah Stier/Getty; Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty
Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk were childhood friends — and now they’re each on the cusp of leading their teams to championships!
The Boston Celtics star, 26, and the Florida Panthers forward, also 26, both attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, where they shared classes while they harbored dreams to one day go pro.
In a video shared by ESPN on YouTube, the future sports stars showed their budding media savvy as they taped a promo for their school back in the day.
“Another reason I came to Chaminade is for great people and great fans,” Tatum said to the camera, before he introduced his pint-size friends, including a mini-Tkachuk, who swung a laptop in the background instead of a hockey stick.
Months after the video was shot, Tkachuk left Chaminade to follow in the footsteps of his dad, NHL All-Star Keith Tkachuk, and enter the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan, according to The Athletic.
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Tatum, meanwhile, stayed through graduation and then played at Duke for one year before being selected third in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Now, the prep school buddies are each one win away from sweeping their opponents in the NBA and NHL finals.
Tatum’s Celtics are up 3-0 over the Dallas Mavericks — with Game 4 on Friday night — while the Panthers are one win from the Stanley Cup in their series against the Edmonton Oilers, with Game 4 on Saturday night.
During media availability earlier this week in Dallas, Tatum sent his best wishes to his former classmate.
“I’m a big Matthew fan,” Tatum said at the press conference. “I actually watched him win [Monday]. … I’m extremely happy for him and his family and hopefully they win it all.”
Tkachuk shared a similar sentiment last week.
“Yeah, it’s actually really cool when you think about it," he said during the Stanley Cup Final Media Day, according to NHL.com. "Everyone from St. Louis, whether they were going to watch or not, with having both of us in, I’d say there’s a lot of people, especially the kids we grew up with and families and people who know us, they’re pulling for both teams. It’s super cool to have that support back home for not only myself, but for the Celtics as well."
“I know I’m watching the games. I watched the game last night. I think it would be unreal for Chaminade and all of St. Louis if we can both win it,” Tkachuk added.
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