Just hours after capturing the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a 106-88 Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum walked the halls of Boston’s TD Gardens with a special message for his childhood friend and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.
“Get it done tomorrow,” Tatum said in a video posted to Instagram by the NBA. “One kid from St. Louis won a championship today, let’s make it two tomorrow.”
Tkachuk’s Panthers lead the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in the Stanley Cup Final and can clinch the franchise’s first championship with a win Tuesday night.
Tatum helped propel Boston to their league-best 18th title in franchise history with an instrumental performance that left him with 31 points and just two assists shy of becoming the 15th player to ever record a triple-double in the NBA Finals.
Tkachuk has helped the Panthers narrow in on their first-ever Stanley Cup with 20 points through his 21 appearances in the 2024 NHL playoffs and has a single assist through four games in this Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers.
Tatum and Tkachuk were classmates at Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis and videos of the two friends hanging out as youngsters have gone viral on social media during their parallel playoff runs this spring.
Both Florida and Boston’s final series have followed similar paths this season, with the two teams hitting a wobble in their respective Game 4s after pushing their opponents to the brink of elimination.
Tatum was able to help carry his team to a rebound win in Game 5 that ultimately secured the franchise their first championship in 16 years.
Tkachuk will look to add a ring of his own in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.