Jayson Tatum, the Celtics and their fans experienced a nightmare Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the final minutes of Boston’s Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks. The six-time All-Star underwent surgery to repair the injury Tuesday, and while Boston didn’t outline a timetable for return at the time of the update, it’s fair to assume Tatum will miss at least all of the 2025-26 season.
It’s a daunting situation, to say the least, and Marc Bertrand didn’t do anything to quell the nerves among Green Teamers on the latest broadcast of 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand.”
“There was a study that was put together titled, ‘Economic and Performance Analysis of Achilles Tendon Rupture in The National Basketball Association.’ They found that Achilles tendon ruptures are devastating injuries that affect many athletes,” Bertrand said. “Thirty-seven players were in the study. Eight of the 37 never played again — they were done. The return to play rate was 78%, so 78% of players were able to make it back to the NBA. So you think, all right, four of five guys make it back and Tatum obviously would be a good candidate to make it back. I don’t think anyone thinks he’s done, right? We don’t think that. No, we think he’s going to be in that four or five. So, OK, we’ll take that.
“Of the players who did return, the players who returned to their previous level of success was 27% based on their metrics. So, a little more than one in four get back to being the same player. You’ve gotta assume Tatum’s that one in four, right? I don’t think that’s a reach. He’s a special player. This is the stat that, to me, was mind-blowing: Of those 37 players, only 20 of them were still in the league post-injury three years later. Fifty-four percent of players were able to stay in the league three years following the injury. Meaning, they started to break down, couldn’t play at the same rate. The mean age at the time of injury in the study was 28 years old. Tatum’s 27.”
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As a superstar player who was supremely durable over the course of his first eight NBA seasons, it’s probably fair to treat Tatum as a unique case when it comes to injury recovery. The 6-foot-8 forward also has such a vast skill set that even if one or two of his high-level tools are diminished post-injury, he still will be able to impact games in a major way.
That said, it certainly won’t be easy for Tatum to restore his superstardom, and he has a long road ahead.