Things went from bad to worse in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics' second-round series against the New York Knicks when Jayson Tatum went down with a non-contact injury. Tatum went to the ground holding his right ankle after an OG Anunoby steal towards the end of the fourth quarter of Monday's matchup.
What had been a dominant performance changed in an instant. One minute, Tatum was going toe-to-toe with Jalen Brunson in a classic NBA duel; the next, his world was flipped upside down.
Boston had to call a timeout immediately, and Tatum was helped off the floor and back to the locker room. The ESPN broadcast showed him being pushed in a wheelchair with his head in his hands.
ESPN's Shams Charania shared an update on Tatum's situation on Tuesday afternoon, during an appearance on SportsCenter.
"The Boston Celtics are bracing for the worst around Jayson Tatum and that right foot," Charania explained. "The Celtics, since last night, have been expecting a severe injury for Tatum."
Shams:
"The Boston Celtics are bracing for the worst around Jayson Tatum and that right foot. The Celtics since last night have been expecting a severe injury for Tatum" pic.twitter.com/lNUSTNRYj4
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 13, 2025
Celtics have yet to give official update on Tatum's injury
Though there has been plenty of speculation about what the Celtics star is dealing with, but the team has yet to give any substantial update.
The only tidbit of information came from Joe Mazzulla's postgame press conference on Monday. Mazzulla shared that JT suffered a "lower-body injury," that he was being seen by the team's doctors at the time of the presser, and that he would be having an MRI on Tuesday.
Tatum has been the definition of durable throughout his Celtics tenure
Since being drafted third overall by Boston in 2017, Tatum has appeared in 585 of 636 possible regular-season games for the Celtics. On top of that, he's also suited up in 121 of 122 possible playoff games in his eight seasons with the team.
There may be no NBA player who wants to be out on the floor for every game more than Tatum does. Just a few months ago, a large contingent of the fanbase was begging for him to take a night off once the Cs were locked into the Eastern Conference's second seed.
Even after rolling his ankle in a late March matchup with the Sacramento Kings, Tatum only took one game off before returning to the lineup.
If he misses significant time like many believe that he will, it'll be pretty strange to see him watching from the bench in street clothes.