Incredible Sports Superstars Who Actually Played Together When They Were Children
The chances of becoming a professional athlete are one in 6,362. The odds of becoming a superstar are even worse. That makes it all the more surprising to learn how many played together in grade school! From throwing the pigskin around the backyard to connecting with each other for big game touchdowns, some players have been building their chemistry since before their biggest fans were born.
Here are our favorite teenage combos still making waves today! Click through to learn more!
Matthew Stafford And Clayton Kershaw Have Made Nealy $300 Million Together
Matthew Stafford is the franchise quarterback for the LA Rams. Clayton Kershaw is the face of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Did you know growing up they played youth soccer with each other? You read that right; before these amazing athletes turned 10-years-old, they were tearing up the turf between the goals.
Since then Kershaw has won three Cy Young awards and one MVP. And Stafford easily became the fastest quarterback to reach 25,000 career yards! What water were these two drinking growing up?
Jason Kidd And Gary Payton Put Each Other On Hall Of Fame Paths
Gary Payton and Jason Kidd were both inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in their first years of eligibility. Amazingly, without each other, that may have never happened. Kidd even credits Payton as the reason he turned out so good.
Playing together in Oakland, Payton realized Kidd had talent but wasn't taking advantage of it playing classmates at school. The future Seattle star made it a regular habit to bring Kidd to his part of town and play older and bigger kids.
DeMarcus Ware And Osi Umenyiora Played Together All The Way Through College
Growing up, DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora would ride the bus to school together and talk about which girls they liked. Actually, they talked about more than just girls, like which college they wanted to play football at. The answer for both was Auburn. When college offers came, Auburn didn't come calling.
Umenyiora, who is older than Ware, decided to go to Troy. He convinced Ware to join him there a few years later. It was not until these two hit the NFL they finally go to play against each other.
Klay Thompson And Kevin Love Weren't Always Rivals
The first time Klay Thompson and Kevin Love crossed paths was Little League. Playing together, they nearly made it to the Little League World Series. The next season they both abandoned baseball to play basketball full time.
When college came around, Love stayed in southern California while Thompson moved to Washington.
Teddy Bridgewater And Amari Cooper Focused On Academics In High School
Going to Miami Northwestern Senior High together, Teddy Bridgewater and Amari Cooper knew they had the talent to make it in the NFL. They also knew they had a responsibility to show their classmates that academics were just as important as sports.
Both did make it to the NFL. Cooper is Cleveland Brown's number one wide receiver but has trouble dropping balls. Bridgewater was the QB for the Miami Dolphins but decided to retire in 2024.
Jose Altuve And Salvador Perez Have Basically Been Playing Together Since Birth
Salvador Perez and Jose Altuve have both won World Series in the MLB careers. They were also born four days apart in Venezuela and believe they've been playing baseball together "pretty much" since then.
The linked pair have both played in six All-Star Games, numerous times together. Perez has a slight edge defensively, putting five Gold Gloves on his mantle compared to Altuve's one.
Kevin Durant And Michael Beasley Were Both Picked Second Overall
Michael Beasley's NBA career might not have soared to the same heights black top teammate Kevin Durant, but he's still had a productive career.
It's hard to stack up to an NBA MVP, two-time league champion, and two-time NBA Finals MVP. Growing up in DC together, the pair was unstoppable.
Ted Ginn And Donte Whitner Had A Chance To Play In A Super Bowl Together
Not many best friends turned professional athletes can say they played in a Super Bowl on the same team. That's exactly what happened to Ted Ginn and Donte Whitner when they joined forces on the 49ers in 2012. The team steamrolled the league, making it to the franchise's sixth appearance.
As best friends in high school, playing together in the big show was always more of a dream than a reality, but they made their dreams come true.
Logan Couture And Drew Doughty Still Train Together
San Jose Sharks star Logan Couture and Los Angeles Kings staple Drew Doughty may play for rival cities, but they still train together in the offseason. As young lads in London, Ontario, the pair were inseparable, wreaking havoc on the ice.
As professionals, the two have met in the playoffs several times. In 2014, the Kings got the best of the Sharks and went on to win the Stanley Cup. Three years later Couture got revenge, beating Doughty in the playoffs and leading the Sharks to the Finals. Sadly, San Jose lost to Boston, meaning Doughty kept his bragging rights.
LeBron James And Carmelo Anthony Were High School Rivals
We bet you didn't know LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony grew up near each other. While there's no proof they played on the blacktop together, they played against each for sure. Growing up in Ohio, the two NBA superstars went to rival high schools.
The met in 2001 at a USA Basketball development camp. They didn't exactly become friends, though. Their high school played each other once. Anthony's Oak Hill Academy claimed victory. James, as kings do, had the last laugh after being picked first overall in the draft. Anthony went two picks later.
Baron Davis And Paul Pierce Are Still Friends Today
In 2011, Baron Davis told ESPN Los Angeles that he's known Paul Pierce since he was nine-years-old. According to him, the pair grew up together in Inglewood, California. They would meet at the local YMCA to work on the game together.
They both made it to the NBA also, although playing for different teams. They reunited in 2006 to host the charity event "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The event had been hosted by Magic Johnson until the childhood best friends took over.
Jesse Hahn And Matt Harvey Were Multi-Sport Stars Together
Both Jesse Hahn and Matt Harvey have carved out successful careers as starting pitchers in MLB. Growing up together in Connecticut, the two played more than just baseball. The also starred on Fitch High School's basketball team together.
In 2014, they came close to pitching against each other for the first time. Hahn started a game for the Padres in New York to play Harvey's Mets. At the time, Harvey was sidelined with an injury. We hope they at least got drinks after the game to catch up!
Marshawn Lynch And Josh Johnson Are More Than Friends
Everyone knows Marshawn Lynch grew up in Oakland. Few athletes embody and embrace their hometown as much as Lynch does with the East Bay. With how overpowering Lynch can be, it's easy to forget his cousin, Josh Johnson, also made it to the NFL.
Johnson has played quarterback for several teams, including starting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009. Two years later, Johnson and Lynch formed the Fam First Family Foundation to help bridge athletics and academics in the Bay Area.
Mike Wallace And Keenan Lewis Went From High School To The NFL Together
Mike Wallace and Keenan Lewis played together from 2009 to 2012 on the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a reunion for the two best friends who played high school football together but went their separate ways for college.
They enjoyed their three years together. According to Lewis, "we're all brothers. We're not just friends." After Pittsburgh cut ties with them, they again went their separate ways. Lewis signed with the Saints and Wallace signed with the Dolphins, before ending up in Baltimore. Lewis was almost signed with the steelers in 2017, but that fell through. Wallace got injured in 2018, and, neither athlete has played professionally since.
Lamar Odom And Metta World Peace Won A Championship Together
Before he was Metta World Peace he was known as Ron Artest. As a kid, Ron Artest was friends with Lamar Odom. They both grew up in Queens, New York and played blacktop basketball together. At the time, there was no way they knew they would end up in California together playing with Kobe Bryant.
Not only did Artest and Odom play together for the Lakers, the dominated and won the NBA Championship in 2010. Today, both are happy in retirement, having fulfilled the ultimate childhood dream together.
