**Jayson Tatum’s** comeback from a torn Achilles last May appears imminent as the star nears the 10-month anniversary of his surgery. While a mid-season debut following a rupture appears unprecedented in NBA history, several NBA stars have resumed their careers following significant injuries. While **Kevin Durant**, **Dru Smith**, **Isaiah Jackson** and others provide the most recent examples of Achilles comebacks, all three progressing through a full training camp and preseason before returning, other late season integrations provide a look at how difficult resuming play in-season can prove.
**Michael Jordan:** Jordan twice re-joined the Bulls late in their seasons, first following a foot injury then after his retirement to play baseball. The first return came in 1985-86 after he broke his foot and missed 64 games following three appearances to begin the season. He averaged 22.7 PPG on 45.7% shooting over the final 18 games where the Bulls went 9-9. Boston swept Chicago in the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls amazingly sneaking in at 30-52, but Jordan posted his famous 63-point game at TD Garden and averaged 43.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 5.7 APG with 2.3 SPG on 50.7% shooting across the three games. Jordan also fared well individually when he came back in 1995, leading the Bulls to 13 wins over their last 17 with 26.9 PPG on 41.1% shooting. In the playoffs, the Bulls topped the Hornets behind his 32.3 PPG in four games. They lost, however, in six games to the Magic in the second round. Jordan averaged 31.0 PPG and shot 47.7% from the field. The Bulls had went 55-27 in 1994 without Jordan before losing to the Knicks in the second round. They went 33-31 before Jordan’s comeback in 1995. **Scottie Pippen** began the year averaging 21.9 PPG on 47.8% shooting with 5.1 APG after finishing third in MVP voting in 1994.
**Magic Johnson:** Johnson missed 45 games in 1980-81, his second NBA season, between Nov. 18 and Feb. 27 after tearing cartilage in his left knee. The Lakers went 18-17 in his absence and closed the season 11-6 after his return, where Johnson posted 21.8 PPG on 53.2% shooting. The Rockets stunned LA in the first round in three games where Johnson averaged 17.0 PPG on 38.8% shooting, including missing the last shot of Game 3. [**Pat Riley**](https://archive.org/details/winnerwithinlife00rile_0/page/48/mode/2up) later noted that Johnson’s return created resentment and division as media coverage focused on his comeback.
**Chris Webber:** Similarly to Tatum, Webber fell with a knee injury during the 2003 playoffs against the Mavericks in May. He underwent microfracture surgery and returned with 24 games remaining where the Kings went 11-12 in his appearances. Webber averaged 18.7 PPG on 41.3% shooting for a Sacramento team that started 43-15 playing around **Peja Stojaković**, who finished fourth in MVP voting after posting 25.6 PPG on 48.1% shooting through Feb. 29. The Kings beat the Mavs in the first round after finishing second in the West, but lost in seven games to **Kevin Garnett’s** Timberwolves in round two. Webber averaged 18.4 PPG on 45.2% shooting in the playoffs, while Stojaković tailed off with 21.1 PPG on 47.7% shooting to close the regular season and 17.5 PPG on 38.4% FG in the playoffs. Webber missed the final shot in Game 7 and the Kings traded him to Philadelphia before the deadline during the following season. Sacramento traded Stojaković in January, 2006.
**Bernard King:** The Knicks legend suffered multiple significant injuries in his right knee and leg in March, 1985 that forced him to miss the entire 1985-86 season. He came back in April, 1987 for six games where the Knicks lost out to finish the year at 24-58. King averaged 22.7 PPG on 49.5% shooting but New York released him after. King played five more seasons around another knee injury where he posted 20.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 3.6 APG on 48.4% shooting between Washington and New Jersey.
**Cedric Maxwell:** The Celtics started 40-11 in 1984-85 before a knee injury cost him roughly one month before he tried returning with six games left until the playoffs. Maxwell’s productivity fell from 11.9 PPG on 53.5% shooting to 4.2 PPG to close the regular season. He shot 48.8% in the playoffs, but on only 2.2 attempts per game, posting 3.8 PPG and only one double-figure scoring effort while the Celtics reached the Finals and lost in six to the Lakers. Boston traded Maxwell to the Clippers in September following the defeat and only appeared in three more NBA seasons.
**Demarcus Cousins:** Returned from an Achilles rupture while joining the **Steph Curry** and **Kevin Durant** Warriors from New Orleans in 2019 with 37 games remaining, averaging 16.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 3.6 APG on 48% shooting. Cousins, however, tore his left quad in Game 2 of the first round and missed most of the playoffs before returning for the NBA Finals, where he posted 8.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.3 APG on 42.5% shooting in the six-game loss to the Raptors marked by Durant’s own Achilles tear. Cousins tore his left ACL the following summer, marking the beginning of the end of his NBA career at 29.
**Klay Thompson:** Thompson returned from ACL and Achilles tears that forced him to miss the 2020 and 2021 seasons on Jan. 9, 2022. The Warriors started 29-9 without him after tanking in 2020 with **Steph Curry** also out and missing the 2021 playoffs following a play-in loss to Memphis. Thompson returned more than 13 months following his Achilles repair and averaged 20.4 PPG, shot 42.9% from the field and 38.5% from three as Golden State closed 17-15 in his appearances. Thompson also missed nine games, but returned to form in the playoffs, shooting 45.8% from three in round one against Denver, scoring 30 points to defeat the Grizzlies in Game 6 and dropping 32 in the series clincher against Dallas in the West Finals. Thompson clinched his fourth championship over the Celtics while averaging 17.0 PPG on 35.6% shooting in the Finals. His efficiency dropped, however, across his next two seasons before he departed to the Mavericks.
**Paul George:** George broke his right leg during a Team USA scrimmage in August, 2014, forcing him to effectively miss the entire 2014-15 season before he returned on Apr. 5, finishing the final six games with five wins while averaging 8.8 PPG on 36.7% shooting. The Pacers fell from 52 wins in 2013-14, when they reached the East Finals, to 38 without a playoff berth with George out. He resumed a successful career, making the next four All-Star teams, two All-NBA Third Teams and a top-three MVP finish in 2018-19 following his trade to Oklahoma City.