'It's Crazy': Tkachuk has a blast hanging with Barkley and NBA on TNT

MIAMI --After traversing his way through a bustling event level at Kaseya Center in the hour leading up to tip-off between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Final on Saturday, Matthew Tkachuk was directed into a small dimly lit green room.

The moment he walked through the door, he was greeted by a larger-than-life figure.

A figure that also happens to be one of his biggest fans as of late.

"Nice to finally meet you," said Hall of Famer and NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley, extending his arm to shake the hand of the Florida Panthers star forward. "I'm so glad you made it."

Once introductions were done, Barkley ushered Tkachuk over to a pair of leather chairs in the center of the room. Right away, the two started to talk shop. An avid hockey fan, Barkley wanted to know everything about Tkachuk and the Panthers, who are bound for the Stanley Cup Final.

From coming back from a 3-1 series deficit in Round 1 against the Boston Bruins to outlasting the Carolina Hurricanes in quadruple overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, Barkley, who has won multiple Emmy Awards as a broadcaster, wanted to hear about it all.

"You guys have been so fun to watch," Barkley said on more than one occasion.

Halfway through their conversation, Reggie Miller, another Hall of Famer and NBA analyst for TNT, popped into the room to make a cup of tea and introduce himself to Tkachuk. Soon, the trio started to talk about Tkachuk's game-winner against Carolina with 4.7 seconds left in Game 4.

While more than 20,000 fans erupted in cheers after that iconic goal, the two previous series-clinching goals for the Panthers had both come on the road. Carter Verhaeghe's winner in Game 7 at Boston and Nick Cousins' winner in Game 5 at Toronto were both met with dead silence by stunned crowds.

Miller, who often terrorized the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden during his playing days starring for the Indiana Pacers, told Tkachuk he often preferred silencing opposing fans.

"That's the best feeling," he smiled. "It's just you and your teammates."

For Tkachuk, the entire moment was pretty surreal.

"Nobody thought we'd be in the playoffs or have a team that could remotely come close," Tkachuk said. "Now we're in the Finals and [Jimmy Butler] is wearing my jersey. It's cool. Now I'm here at Celtics- Heat Game 6. I just talked to Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller. It's just crazy how the last few months have gone. We're riding the wave and enjoying every minute of it."

But how did a rising NHL superstar end up in a room with two NBA legends?

That's where Barkley came in.

Ever since the Panthers pulled off their historic upset over the Bruins, Barkley has continued to bring up Tkachuk on the NBA on TNT's broadcast every time that he's scored a big goal during the playoffs.

With nine goals and counting -- including four game-winners -- that means he's come up a lot.

So with the Panthers having some extra downtime after sweeping the Hurricanes -- and with TNT also set to broadcast the Stanley Cup Final -- Tkachuk was invited to join the NBA on TNT panel before watching the Heat, an eighth seed just like the Panthers, clash with the Celtics.

In addition to Barkley, Tkachuk, sporting a playoff beard and an Elbo Room t-shirt, sat alongside host Ernie Johnson, Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal and two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith.

As always with world-famous NBA on TNT panel, a lot of laughs ensued.

"I think my dad is more happy with [Shaq] though than Chuck after Chuck gave over the title of [best player in] the family to me," Tkachuk joked, referencing Barkley's comments earlier about Matthew usurping Keith Tkachuk following his series-clincher against Carolina.

At one point, Barkley brought up the NHL's rules on fighting.

"I would love to knock the hell out of you and only get two minutes," Barkley said to O'Neal, his verbal sparring partner on broadcasts. "Just one time. They might give me a five-minute major, but I'd just love to slap the hell out of you on the show one day and they'd just say, 'Chuck, you're not going to be on the air for two minutes.'"

O'Neal then turned to his left and looked at Tkachuk.

"What you want me to do, teammate?" O'Neal said before standing up and pretending to skate around the desk.

When asked by the panel who he's rooting for between the Heat and Celtics, Tkachuk perfectly navigated the difficult question regarding his fandom. Of course, the Heat and Panthers have been supporting each other throughout their respective playoff runs, but Tkachuk is also buddies with Celtics star Jayson Tatum, a former classmate of his back at Chaminade Prep in St. Louis.

"It's crazy that we were in the same gym class for all those years and it's cool to say that we are both representing Chaminade and I know everyone back in St. Louis is rooting us on," Tkachuk said. "I was saying earlier my two favorite players are Jimmy Butler -- Jimmy Buckets -- and Jayson so I hope they both go off and it's an exciting game. But I don't know, everybody here is pulling for me, so I gotta join their side for a little bit. But that would make a lot of people in St. Louis mad so I got to keep the honest answer going and just root for both of them."

With the Panthers back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996, Tkachuk, who hasn't even been with the franchise for a full year since being acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames back in July, has quickly become the face of the team's new style.

Often seen gnawing on a mouthguard, that face has now been seen by a lot more people.

Less than 24 hours after his appearance on NBA on TNT, Tkachuk's roughly seven-minute interview has already been viewed more than 1.5 million times on the @NHL\On\TNT's Twitter, while also receiving 66,000 views on NBA on TNT's YouTube page at the time of this writing.

On Instagram, various clips of the interview of garnered hundreds of thousands of likes.

A photo of Tkachuk, who was also shown on the jumbotron during the game, in his seat at the arena shared from @SportsCenter on Twitter has received more than 700,000 impressions.

"It's a great tie-in to expose people to new people and personalities," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "That's really important, to see somebody like Matthew. He's good. It's natural. That's him. There's no act there. It's good for [current] fans and then hopefully for new fans to get to know the players a little bit."

With the Panthers set to face off against either the Vegas Golden Knights or Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final, fans can expect to see a lot more of Tkachuk on the TV in the coming weeks.

"For me, getting to join [NBA on TNT] was shocking," Tkachuk said of his unforgettable night in Miami. "It's crazy that I'm in this position right now and they asked me to come on. It's pretty cool."

To view the full interview, check out the clip in the tweet below.