Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk’s friendship goes back to when they were kids attending Chaminade College Preparatory School in Missouri. And the NBA and NHL star reconnected to join forces on a Major League Baseball diamond.
Tatum, who helped lead the Boston Celtics to an NBA title and Tkahuk, whose Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup, threw out of the first pitch of Sunday’s Cardinals game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium.
Afterwards, the two recreated their iconic photo from their days at Chaminade when they were sitting on the bus.
Tkachuk and Tatum played big roles for their respective teams in helping them win a championship, with the former helping lead the Panthers to their first ever Stanley Cup. Florida’s star forward joined the U.S. National Team Development Program when he was a freshman in high school, but remained in touch with Tatum.
“Yeah it’s actually really cool when you think about it. 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” Tkachuk told NHL.com’s Tracey Myers in June. “It’s super cool to have that support back home for not only myself, but for the Celtics as well.”
Both players are in the midst of their offseason, but Tatum was in Paris for the 2024 Olympics as Team USA won its fifth straight gold medal.
The 2024-25 NHL and NBA seasons are fast approaching, though, and Tatum and Tkachuk will soon be back on the court and ice, respectively, as they try to repeat as champions.
