Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, who is recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon suffered last May in the NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks, says he feels the “strongest I’ve felt” amid his rehab.
“It sounds ironic to say, but this is the best that my body and the strongest that I’ve felt really kind of in my career,” Tatum told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “I’ve never had this block of time to just focus on getting stronger and getting your body right. So I see a world in which I come back and I feel stronger, more explosive than I did before I got hurt.”
The 27-year-old Tatum has already authored a fantastic eight-year career, notably making the All-NBA First Team each of his last four seasons. During that stretch, Tatum has finished top six in the NBA MVP voting each year while averaging 27.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
Tatum has also guided the Celtics to a pair of Eastern Conference titles (2021-22, 2023-24) and the 2023-24 NBA championship.
The six-time All-Star led the C’s to 61 wins and the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 playoff seed last year. He averaged 28.1 points per game over eight playoff contests.
Unfortunately, Tatum suffered a non-contact injury late in a 42-point effort against the New York Knicks in Game 4 of their second-round series on May 12.
He’ll obviously be out for quite some time, but Tatum isn’t ruling out the possibility of returning this season at some point. However, he did make clear he wants to be 100 percent before he gets back on the floor.
“I’m doing everything in my power to get back as healthy as I can, as fast as I can,” Tatum told Eileen Filan of People.
“Nobody’s putting any pressure on me to come back at a certain point. But I’m also not ruling out that I’m not playing this season. The first most important thing is making a full recovery, being back 100 percent before I step on the floor, not compromising anything, I’m still only 27, I got a lot of basketball left. I’m not rushing it.”
Thankfully, Tatum is in good spirits as he attacks the rehab, and he’s clearly happy with where he is physically right now. That’s certainly a good sign four-and-a-half months after the injury.
It’s certainly possible Tatum picks up where he left off post-injury as well. Of note, Kevin Durant suffered a torn Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals. He missed all of 2019-20 and returned to the court at the age of 32. In his past five seasons, Durant has averaged 27.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, making the All-Star team each year and the All-NBA Second Team on two occasions.
So there’s a model that Tatum can go after. He’s on the right track for now as he looks to get back to 100 percent.
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