The Boston Celtics announced on Tuesday that their star forward, Jayson Tatum, had surgery Tuesday afternoon to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. He sustained the injury during the late stages of the fourth quarter in Monday`s Game 4 defeat against the New York Knicks.
The team reported the surgery was successful but did not provide a timeline for his return.
Tatum was having one of his finest playoff performances, scoring 42 points on 16-of-28 shooting, before collapsing in severe pain with three minutes left in the fourth quarter on Monday night.
He was eventually helped up and taken off the court, unable to bear any weight on his foot. Despite the loss bringing the defending champions near elimination, post-game focus was almost entirely on Tatum`s condition.
“At this point, I`m concerned about Jayson,” Celtics center Al Horford commented in the locker room post-game. “That`s what matters most to me. We`ll deal with the game details later. I just hope he`s alright.”
Since being drafted third by Boston in 2017, Tatum has been remarkably durable and successful. He`s expected to be named to his fourth straight All-NBA first team, a feat achieved by only 43 players in league history. He turned 27 in March.
His 42-point performance marked the fifth time he`s scored 40 or more in a playoff game, matching Celtics legends Larry Bird and John Havlicek for the franchise record.
Last season, Tatum led the team in points, rebounds, and assists during their run to the franchise`s record 18th NBA championship. Since entering the league, he has played more games than any other player and has won Olympic gold medals with Team USA in Tokyo and Paris.
According to research, he is also second only to LeBron James in total playoff points scored by age 27.
His availability for the remainder of these playoffs and potentially next season is now uncertain. This is a significant setback for the Celtics, who were aiming for their fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance (fifth in six years and sixth in eight years since Tatum joined).
The Celtics must now regroup after the double blow of losing their star player for the playoffs and squandering a third double-digit lead in the series. Boston held leads of at least 20 points in their Game 1 and 2 home losses and a 14-point lead on Monday, all of which they lost.
“These things happen,” said Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis after Monday`s defeat. “We all felt for him at that moment, but we just have to keep pushing, keep playing. We understood what this could mean, but it`s part of the sport, it`s difficult. It`s tough to witness and accept the reality. But, it is what it is, and we have to move forward with the players we have available.”
