Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk go viral after recreating an iconic photo

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and Boston Celtics guard Jayson Tatum, both from St. Louis, recently won championships in their respective sports – Tkachuk in the NHL and Tatum in the NBA.

During the Celtics and Panthers postseason earlier this summer, a photo of middle school teammates Matthew Tkachuk and Jayson Tatum went viral online. When they were in the same location, they recreated the photo and posed together again.

If the Photo resurfaced on the Internet In June 2024, a third head was seen behind Tkachuk and Tatum.

Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk recreate their old photo

Jacob Bai, a classmate from Chaminade's Class of 2016, mentioned that his father immediately texted him to let him know he had been featured on ESPN. Bai was surprised and received messages from friends on Snapchat alerting him that he was in the picture.

It's a striking sports photo that shows two young schoolchildren casually hanging out, with a third one in there too. Major sports media outlets have shared the image during the Stanley Cup Finals and NBA Finals, and on Sunday at the Cardinals game, the trio recreated the moment.

The Cardinals contacted Bai, who lives in San Diego, and arranged a flight back to St. Louis for him and his fiancée Rachel Anne Ramos.

Before the Cardinals' game against the Dodgers, Tatum and Tkachuk arrived at Busch Stadium and were greeted with red City Connect jerseys with their names and numbers.

Bring championships to St. Louis

To celebrate with their hometown, Tatum brought the Larry O'Brien trophy, while Tkachuk brought a heavyweight belt with the Stanley Cup logo on the front.

After being driven across the field and throwing the ceremonial first throws – Tkachuk to Alec Burleson and Tatum to Ryan Helsley – they then met with Bai in a suite.

The Cardinals' photo team arranged the photo. Bai took his place behind the two stars and repeated the original pose from their high school days. They were then given copies of the iconic photo to hold up for the new image.

Although Tkachuk and Tatum pursued their professional careers on opposite sides of the country, they stayed in touch and brought two championship titles back to St. Louis in June.

The trio’s friendship over the years

Bai cherishes his memories of Tkachuk and Tatum. He remembers Tatum being his lab partner in biology class in seventh grade and playing basketball with Tatum in seventh and eighth grades. Bai even brought team photos to Busch Stadium.

Before the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers winger told reporters that he had been following his high school friend during the NBA playoffs, emphasizing how special it would be for their hometown to see two of them win at the highest level.

“I think it would be incredible for Chaminade and all of St. Louis if we could both win… Yes, I'm definitely rooting for him. Absolutely,” Tkachuk said.

Tatum recently won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and led the Celtics to the NBA championship in the 2023-24 season. Tkachuk played a key role in helping the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup.