The minutes following Jayson Tatum’s injury were understandably emotional.
The Celtics superstar, who reportedly was in a state of shock as he was wheeled through the Madison Square Garden hallway, never experienced such a devastating injury. Tatum ruptured his Achilles in the final minutes of Game 4 on Monday night and had season-ending surgery the next morning.
Tatum’s emotion came through during a phone call with his father, Justin, who was coaching basketball outside of the United States, as shared by NBA writer Marc Spears.
“Jayson ended up giving him a call once he was able to,” Spears said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Wednesday night, before the Celtics defeated the Knicks in Game 5. “They cried on the phone together. Jayson was asking him, ‘Why me, Dad? Why me? Why does this have to happen to me?’ And he said, ‘Son, this is God’s will. You’re young. You’re going to get through this.’ And he reminded him that, ‘Isn’t Kobe your idol? Kobe got through this.'”
Tatum’s father expects the 27-year-old will miss eight to nine months, which would put Tatum on track to return sometime between mid-January and mid-February.
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For now, though, Tatum is thankful for the support he’s received from Green Teamers and is hoping his Celtics teammates will continue to fight without him on the floor. Boston, which faces a 3-2 deficit in the best-of-seven series, will have the chance to do so with Game 6 against the Knicks on Friday night.