There are many fraternities linking pro athletes together across sports, but few are stronger than their roots. That’s the connection shared by Bradley Beal and recent NBA draft pick Jayson Tatum.

Both Brad and Tatum are natives of St. Louis and attended the same high school, Chaminade College Preparatory School. And despite the fact that they attended school five years apart, they are linked. Both won Missouri state titles at Chaminade, both were McDonald’s All Americans and named Gatorade Player of the Year, and both enrolled in college for one year before heading to the NBA. If their basketball accolades weren’t enough Brad’s mother even coached Jayson’s mom in volleyball in high school.

The two are quite close off the court as well— in fact, Brad calls Jayson his little brother. Tatum attended Brad’s camps during high school and BB watched him play throughout his time at Chaminade and then at Duke. That’s why in March, before the draft, BB proclaimed Tatum as his No. 1 pick.

“He’s 6-9, but he really plays point guard. He played point guard all throughout high school. In college, he’s 6-9, so he has to play the 3 and the 4,” Brad remarked. “He has a mismatch every night and it’s an unfair advantage because he can put the ball on the floor, shoot threes, and he has mid-post game. So he’s pretty much giving you whatever you want.”

However, in another twist of fate that links the two St. Louis products, Tatum was instead taken No. 3 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, the same slot Brad had been drafted by the Wizards five years earlier.

That selection was made this time, however, by the Boston Celtics, a team BB and the Wizards have already built a rivalry with while battling for Eastern Conference supremacy. That rivalry reached a nadir this past postseason with an epic seven-game series that ended with Boston knocking Washington out of the playoffs. That means for the first time, Brad and Tatum will be on opposite ends of a rivalry.

It’s something Drew Hanlen, the St. Louis-based skills coach for both players, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is anxious to see.

“It would be one of those things that they’d be brothers until the ball is thrown up,” he said. “That’s one thing — they’ve never played against each other, as far as a real game. Once they do, it’ll be pretty crazy how much they go at each other, because there’s been a lot of trash talk in our group text over the years about who had a better career at Chaminade, who was the better player and who is the better player.

For his part, Bradley already let his little brother know that it was on from the moment he was drafted.

Of course that didn’t stop BB from checking out Tatum when he was in Las Vegas watching the young Wizards play during NBA Summer league action.

Brad was even there to greet and congratulate his “little bro” after a game.

Brothers and rivals. Add a new level to the Wizards/Celtics rivalry this fall.

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