Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 month ago on
May 13, 2025

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum undergoes surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon, ending his playoff run and casting doubt on the team's future. (AP/Frank Franklin II)

Share

BOSTON — When Jayson Tatum toppled to the court, writhing in pain and grabbing at his right foot late in the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinals Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks, it looked like a potentially season-altering injury.

Boston’s worst fears are now confirmed.

Tatum had surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon that will sideline him for the remainder of the playoffs, the team announced.

The Celtics provided details on the extent of Tatum’s injury and announced news of the surgery a day after the six-time All-Star went down in the Celtics’ 121-113 Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks. It puts the hopes of the defending champions repeating and Tatum’s playing status for next season in doubt.

They did not give a timetable for his return, but said a full recovery was expected.

When Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals, he wound up missing the entire 2019-2020 season.

The 27-year-old Tatum is leading the Celtics in points (28.1), rebounds (11.5) and assists (5.4) per game for the second straight postseason.

The Knicks lead the Celtics 3-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Game 5 is in Boston on Wednesday night.

Tatum’s Injury Details

Tatum was carried off the court with 2:58 remaining in Monday night’s game. The Celtics had just turned the ball over and as Tatum moved for the loose ball, his leg gave out and he went down. He buried his face in a towel in obvious pain while grabbing at his leg above the ankle after the noncontact injury.

Tatum scored 42 points, his highest total during these playoffs and one of the best all-round postseason performances of his career, before he was hurt.

The injury was Tatum’s second this postseason. He missed Game 2 of Boston’s 4-1 first-round series win over Orlando with a bone bruise in his right wrist. It was the first time he’d missed a playoff game in his career.

Celtics Face Uphill Battle

Now, Tatum’s teammates will face a daunting task that few teams before them have pulled off if they want to break an NBA record six-season drought without a repeat champion.

Teams holding a 3-1 lead in the NBA playoffs have gone on to win 95.6% of the time, with only 13 teams in 293 tries ever coming back from the deficit to win the series.

“Obviously, we all realize in our heads what this could mean. This part of the sport – it’s tough,” Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis said Monday. “We have to move forward. He don’t want us to be over here sad and not play our best basketball.”

To become the 14th team to overcome a 3-1 deficit, the Celtics will need big performances from a roster that has several players who have dealt with injuries this postseason.

All-Star Jaylen Brown entered the playoffs dealing with a right knee issue that has slowed him at times. Porzingis also has been slowed at times by the lingering effects of a viral illness that sidelined him for stretches in the second half of the regular season.

Brown said Monday that his confidence remains high.

“Get ready for the next one. Get ready to fight. Get ready to come out on our home floor and do what we need to do,” Brown said. “That’s the goal. Still the goal. We’ve got enough in this locker room. So, I believe in my guys.”

Potential Offseason Impact

Regardless of how this series or the rest of the playoffs play out for Boston, Tatum’s injury likely will alter how the franchise confronts this coming offseason.

Including this year, the Celtics’ payroll will be over the salary cap and make them a luxury-tax team for the third straight season. That means they will be hit with the “repeater tax” for being over the cap threshold in three out of four seasons.

Their current payroll for next season is on track to come in around $225 million, which would mean a tax bill next year of almost $280 million. The combined potential $500 total price tag would be a league record.

It is unclear whether the team’s incoming new ownership will want to keep paying those hefty taxes to maintain the current roster after agreeing to a purchase in March that is expected to have a final price of a minimum of $6.1 billion.

Tatum signed an NBA-record five-year, $314 contract last July that will begin next season. Brown is playing under a five-year, $304 million deal that kicked in this season.

That means that trimming player salary is a possibility ownership could explore this summer.

And with Tatum possibly missing all of next season, it could accelerate the front office’s timeline for reworking the current roster with an eye toward the future.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

12 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

12 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

A man is dead and three others are injured following a rollover crash Saturday evening on Trimmer Springs Road that investigators say was ca...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

Mourners pray during the funeral of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
10 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

Bullet holes mark the front door of Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman, who was shot alongside his wife, Yvette, in what is believed to be an attack by 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is also the lead suspect in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Marc, in Champlin, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
12 hours ago

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

Israelis take shelter at the side of a highway as siren sounds following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in central Israel June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
12 hours ago

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday, on the day of his 79th birthday, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
12 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

14 hours ago

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

15 hours ago

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

16 hours ago

Big Fresno Fair Unveils Second Wave of 2025 Concert Acts

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend