Tatum ruptures right Achilles tendon leaving Celtics on edge

Very bad news for the defending NBA champions: Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon and is expected to be out for an extended period, leaving the Boston Celtics without their star player for their game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

The Celtics superstar was injured in the 121-113 loss to the Knicks on Monday in the semifinal playoffs and underwent "successful" surgery on Tuesday, according to a message from his team on the social media platform X.

His winces of pain and despair in a wheelchair were already a clear sign of the severity of the situation for the 27-year-old American basketball player, whose future at the highest level is now uncertain due to the nature of the injury.

"A return date has not been set, and he will need to fully recover before making any decisions," added the franchise, which, with Tatum as its leader, won a record 18th NBA title last year.

With or without him, Boston finds itself in a precarious situation, trailing 3-1 against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

They will play Game 5 on Wednesday at the TD Garden in Boston. The winner of the series will face the Indiana Pacers, who defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Surge of support

Boston may have a talented and experienced roster with players like Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Payton Pritchard, but Tatum was the team's most reliable pillar in the playoffs.

He averaged 28.1 points and was the go-to player during crunch time, handling the ball most of the time.

"Jayson has a warrior's mentality, like all of his teammates," franchise co-owner Wyc Grousbeck told the Boston Globe on Tuesday. "He's going to work very hard to get back and, in the meantime, the Celtics are going to fight every game."

A six-time NBA All-Star and member of the U.S. teams that won Olympic gold in Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024, Tatum collapsed at Madison Square Garden on Monday, clearly in pain after suffering the injury.

The forward had been performing brilliantly before the incident, scoring 42 points in a memorable showdown.

The severity of the injury sparked a wave of support and concern from his teammates and various NBA figures, who quickly expressed their solidarity with the player.

"I hate that it happened. The NBA is a brotherhood, I pray for him," Knicks star Josh Hart said after the game.

LeBron James also shared a message of support on X, while prominent figures from other sports joined in expressing their solidarity.

Durant and Bryant's cases

Serious Achilles tendon injuries often require a lengthy recovery period, sometimes lasting a year or more.

Kevin Durant, one of the NBA's biggest stars, was sidelined for about 18 months after rupturing his Achilles tendon during the 2019 Finals. The injury kept him out for the entire 2019-2020 season, and he didn’t return to the court until December 2020.

In April 2013, the late Kobe Bryant, legendary hero of the Los Angeles Lakers, ruptured his left Achilles tendon at the age of 34.

He returned to play six games in December 2013 before ending his season with a knee injury, then made his full return in October 2014, playing for two more seasons.

With the continuation — and possible end — of their playoff run on Wednesday, and Tatum's lengthy rehab ahead, the Celtics will have a lot of work to do this summer. Their salary cap is expected to become unsustainable compared to the current NBA ceilings, adding another layer of complexity to their offseason plans.

The roster will likely need to be reshaped, especially considering the prolonged absence of their star small forward, whose hefty salary — estimated at around $62 million annually — will be a significant factor in their decisions.