The road to recovery has begun for Jayson Tatum.
The Celtics star spoke out on social media on Wednesday for the first time since tearing his right Achilles tendon in Monday’s Game 4 loss to the Knicks.
“Thankful for all the love and support (prayer emoji),” Tatum wrote in an Instagram caption alongside a picture of him in a hospital bed before his Celtics cruised to a 127-102 win in Game 5.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon on Monday in a devastating blow to Boston’s back-to-back NBA title chances. Jayson Tatum/InstagramTatum underwent surgery on Tuesday and is likely to miss all of next season as a result.
The Celtics had kind words for their six-time All-Star on X after he broke his silence.
“The comeback will be greater than the setback,” the team wrote with a screenshot of Tatum’s Instagram post.
The injury occurred late in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 121-113 win at the Garden when Tatum fell to the floor while going for a loose ball.
Tatum immediately grabbed at his lower right leg and rolled around in pain.
Jayson Tatum is checked by trainers immediately after suffering a non-contact injury late in Game 4 against the Knicks. Jason Szenes / New York PostBefore going down, Tatum had been enjoying one of the best playoff games of his career, scoring 42 points on 16-for-28 shooting and 7-for-16 from deep with eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.
Losing Tatum, who is likely to be named to his fourth straight All-NBA first-team this season, delivered a massive to blow to the Celtics’ chances at becoming the first team since the 2017-18 Warriors to win back-to-back NBA championships.
After Wednesday’s win, they will now need to win two straight games to earn a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers.
