Jayson Tatum is officially back and ready to help the Boston Celtics earn their 19th banner. It was a rather swift road to recovery but that did not make it easy for the superstar. He had to see his team crumble in the NBA Playoffs while also thinking of uncertainties as the season went by. Coach Joe Mazzulla and the Jaylen Brown-led squad held their own without him but no one gave him more comfort than someone who experienced the same thing — Dallas Mavericks guard and Golden State Warriors legend Klay Thompson.
Mavs veteran knows how tough injury recovery was for Tatum
When Tatum made his season debut against the Mavs, it took a couple of attempts with a missed dunk sprinkled in before he actually found the bottom of the net in the second quarter. Clearly, the injury had limited him and the minutes restriction from Coach Mazzulla meant that he had less time to impact the game. Thompson saw this and quickly ran to the Celtics superstar after the game.
His message came from a place of optimism despite seeing someone struggle from the same woes that he faced from 2019 to 2022, via Jay King of The Athletic.
"I talked a little bit with Klay Thompson after the game the other day. His message was, one of his messages was like, ‘Man, just give yourself some grace.’ He said that he wished he would have given himself more grace. Obviously, being elite athletes and competitors that we are, we want it so bad, but I’m still on the road to recovery and this is just a phase of it," Tatum said about his interaction with the Mavs veteran.
Notably, Thompson injured his ACL during the Warriors' 2019 NBA Finals run which led to the dynasty ending. A year later, he also tore his right Achilles tendon which would prevent him from coming back until January 9, 2022. It was also that year where the Warriors would win the Larry O'Brien Trophy against the Celtics.
Tatum is hoping the accomplish the same glory that Thompson notched after his injury recovery. As of the moment, he is doing well by helping the Celtics win their last 2 games since his debut. Coach Mazzulla and Co. are also now just 2.5 games back from notching the top seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
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