“I think everybody’s concerned with Jayson. I’m not sure how bad it is. Didn’t look great. But I think everybody is kind of more concerned with that,” said Jaylen Brown in the aftermath of Jayson Tatum’s injury. Losing to the New York Knicks 3-1 in the playoffs was bad enough, but having the star player be sidelined was just straight-out bad luck. The Celtics’ current situation is a far cry from the dominance they displayed last season, and the emotional toll is evident across the roster. With Jayson Tatum sidelined and unable to speak publicly about his mindset, we’ve had to rely on those close to him to offer insight into how he’s coping.

As the Celtics-Knicks Game 5 continued in the 4th quarter, Reggie Miller was able to switch his focus to Tatum. The former NBA player turned analyst revealed receiving a message from the Celtics star.

Miller revealed that he had checked in with Tatum about his mental state following the devastating injury. According to Miller, Tatum responded with a mix of heartbreak and determination: “Look, I’m devastated by this, and I appreciate all the love and support from everyone.” But he wasn’t about to let the story end there. “This injury will not define me,” Tatum made clear. “And I can’t wait to be back in Celtic green, to show you why.” Woah. That’s the kind of resolve that turns a setback into a legacy moment. For Miller, this was a clear insight into his mindset. ‘Devastated’, yet ‘determined’.

Jayson Tatum sustained an Achilles tendon when less than 3 minutes were remaining in Game 4 of the Celtics-Knicks series. The 27-year-old was diving for a loose ball when suddenly, he went down. He held onto his right ankle, with the pain on his face indicating things were far from being good. OG Anunoby put away a fastbreak dunk, after which the game was briefly stopped, and Tatum was helped off the court. As he was being taken to the locker room, in a wheelchair, footage captured from a camera in the arena’s tunnel showed Tatum with his hands on his face, visibly distraught. Why should he not be? Not only was he in pain, but his injury came at the very worst time for the Celtics.

Fortunately, Tatum’s devastation would have found some relief after the recent game. After all, even without the scorer, the Celtics managed to win Game 5, at TD Garden, by a 127-102 score. The major credit for the same goes to Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, who led the scoring effort with their 34 and 26 points respectively.

NBA reporter Adam Himmelsbach reported that Tatum is expected to make a full recovery, but players who have suffered similar injuries have been sidelined for mostly one season. Meanwhile, Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gregory Waryasz said that the Celtics star is likely out from the court for a 9-12-months. Therefore, knowing that the Celtics squad can manage without Tatum would provide relief to a lot of people. Jayson Tatum might not have approved of the text message getting leaked. However, it is still good that Celtics fans got to know a little inner truth about the player’s mental health. After all, to them, he was trying to show nothing but positivity.

Jayson Tatum expressed thanks to his supporters in his first post-surgery photo

Earlier today, the 27-year-old took to his official Instagram account to share a post with his 7.3 million followers. The same featured Tatum lying on the hospital bed, with his right leg, or at least the ankle, visibly in a cast. Despite this, the player attempted to smile for the camera and even put up a thumbs-up to indicate positivity. Jayson Tatum added a caption alongside this post that read “Thankful for all the love and support 🙏🏽”.

The post received several positive comments from many people, including Tatum’s on-court peers like Kevin Love, Stephen Curry, Dennis Schroder, Tony Allen, etc. With Stephen Curry himself out from the main lineup due to the first hamstring injury of his career, the 3-point leader couldn’t have helped but sympathize.

Jayson Tatum had to immediately get surgery once the MRI revealed the extent of his Achilles tendon. After all, as Adam Himmelsbach reported, making immediate decisions about procedures after Achilles’ injuries is the better option when hoping for a quick recovery.

Tatum has been a durable player, since he only missed ten games before the recent injury, throughout the ongoing tournament. Except for the last series against the Orlando Magic, when he hurt his wrist, Tatum has never missed a playoff game. A torn Achilles is one of the worst injuries in sports. Therefore, at this time of need, all we can do is fans is hope that the player makes a swift recovery. Meanwhile, the Celtics squad can keep their teammate’s spirits up by simply winning.