With the Boston Celtics advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, Jayson Tatum and Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk made their high-school gym class proud in the NHL and NBA playoffs. Tkachuk makes history as he leads the Panthers to their first NHL conference finals in 27 years. He did this by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Game Five victory.

On the other hand, this is not the Celtics and Tatum's first time in the conference finals. The Celtics have been in the same position for the second straight year. He has also helped them get their fifth in seven years. Tatum made four conference finals appearances out of the six years he's been active.

In a statement with Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Tkachuk said: “Nobody in the world thought we were going to be in this position right now.” This is a response to how stacked the odds were against the Panthers for them to get far in the NHL Playoffs. Jayson Tatum proceeded to drop 51 points on the Philadelphia 76ers with their MVP, Joel Embiid, present to make the Celtics advance. The NBA star broke the all-time Game 7 scoring record that was previously held by Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Sam Jones.

Celtics and Panthers legends in Chaminade

In addition, Tatum and Tkachuk were classmates at Chaminade College Preparatory School in Missouri. This was Jayson Tatum's hometown school. Matthew Tkachuk was there because his father played for the St. Louis Blues. They were assigned to a group project together and collaborated on many things in the school. Both would later get drafted with Tkachuk going to the Calgary Flames in the 2016 NHL Draft. Tatum would then follow in the 2017 NBA Draft where he would be drafted by the Celtics.

The Celtics resume their path to the NBA trophy on Wednesday against the Miami Heat. Meanwhile, the Panthers face the Carolina Hurricanes as they proceed in the NHL Playoffs. Both teams are a series away from a matchup to get their major league trophies.