Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum had surgery Tuesday to repair his torn, right Achilles tendon, a report by ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania said on Tuesday afternoon. The 27-year-old was injured in Monday night’s playoff game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The injury obviously rules Tatum out for the remainder of the Celtics playoffs, which would end on Wednesday if they lose that game to the Knicks. But more importantly, the three-time All-NBA first-teamer could miss the entirety of next season as well.
According to Charania’s report, Tatum now faces “a long rehab.”
“Boston Celtics All-NBA star Jayson Tatum underwent surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon. Catastrophic season-ending injury for one of the NBA’s young faces and the Celtics, with a long rehab awaiting,” the ESPN insider reported at 4:43 p.m. Eastern Time, just 17 minutes before the Celtics were required to issue their injury report for Wednesday’s game.
One minute after Charania posted his report, the Celtics issued their own post confirming the details of the earlier information.
“Jayson Tatum today underwent successful surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon,” the Celtics wrote on their official social media channels. “No timetable is currently available for his return, but he is expected to make a full recovery. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.”
Jayson Tatum today underwent successful surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. No timetable is currently available for his return, but he is expected to make a full recovery. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.
With the Celtics trailing two games to one in the second-round series against the Knicks, Tatum played 40 minutes before his injury, scoring 42 points with eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots.
Until that fateful moment, Tatum was playing one of the best playoff games of his career. It was his 31st playoff game with at least 40 points. That tied Celtics legends Larry Bird and John Havlicek for most 40-point playoff performances in franchise history.
But with 3:04 remaining in Mondays’ game and the Celtics trailing by seven points, Tatum’s longest-standing teammate Jaylen Brown lost the dribble around mid-court, and the ball came loose.
As Tatum dove to recover the loose ball, his right leg appeared to give out and he collapsed face first to the floor, clutching the back of his right ankle area.
