Celtics star Jayson Tatum has undergone surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
Tatum’s 2024/25 season is over, and given the typical recovery timeline following an Achilles tear, his ’25/26 availability is very much in jeopardy as well. According to the Celtics, no timeline is available for his return yet, but he’s expected to make a full recovery.
This is exactly the diagnosis that Tatum and the Celtics feared when the 27-year-old was carried off the court on Monday after suffering a non-contact right leg injury. After taking an awkward step near the top of the key, Tatum crumpled to the floor and was unable to put any weight on the leg as he was helped off the floor.
It’s a devastating blow in both the short term and the long term for the Celtics, who face a 3-1 deficit in their second-round series against the Knicks and will face a significant uphill climb as they look to make a comeback without their leading scorer.
Tatum, who has earned three consecutive First Team All-NBA nods, will almost certainly make it four in a row this spring after averaging 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game in 72 regular season outings. He had put up 28.1 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 5.4 RPG through eight playoff contests.
Besides dealing a massive blow to the Celtics’ chances to repeat as NBA champions, Tatum’s injury casts a major cloud over the 2025/26 season.
There had already been speculation about the possibility of Boston making cost-cutting roster moves this offseason after spending the last two seasons operating above the second tax apron. With Tatum unlikely to play much – if at all – next season, shedding salary could become a greater priority for a Celtics team that will be hard-pressed to repeat the success of the past two years without its star forward on the court.
This is the first major injury of Tatum’s NBA career — the 10 games he missed this season represented a career high, as he had never been sidelined for more than eight in any of his previous seven years in the league.
Tatum signed a five-year, super-max contract extension last July that will go into effect beginning in 2025/26. The deal, which runs through at least 2029, with a ’29/30 player option, projects to be worth nearly $314MM.
So the Celtics already were saying they were going to reduce payroll, and now no Tatum + less payroll…no playoffs for Boston starting next year…all of this insanity happening with Dallas and now Boston reeks of NBA league corruption…
Reducing payroll due to restrictions that go into effect next season.
Yes, Tatum tore his achilles on purpose to help the NBA.
I’d love to hear the mental hoops he had to jump through to link Boston & JT’s injury to an NBA conspiracy theory
Boston can definitely make the playoffs without Tatum. They won 61 games and this is the East we’re talking about. The 10th seed made the playoffs.
They can but they will not be a contender without a superstar to replace Tatum
Sure but that isn’t the same as “No Playoffs”. They’re the Clippers the year Kawhi was hurt.
take the tin foil off. jesus christ.
Sucks, wish a speedy recovery
Sixers nation
Speedy recovery and rehab.
a shame. I don’t know if he would’ve led the C’s all the way back, but this changes the organization’s off-season plans radically, especially with new ownership coming in.
I figure (at least) Horford, Holliday, and Porzingis will be gone, and they build around Brown. Will be interesting to see if they ship others, like Pritchard, out while their values are at their highest, and amass assets a la the Danny Ainge era.
Either way, this will be an off-season to watch closely.
Best wishes to Tatum for a complete recovery, no matter how long it takes.
Horford will be back. He’s a free agent and wants to be in Boston.
Pritchard will probably stick as he’s underpaid and they’ll need his offense/shooting with Tatum out. I don’t think he has much value for other teams as he’s not really a Point Guard.
I feel like everyone but Tatum could be on the market if the right deal comes along.
I don’t think you are looking at full rebuild. I think they have to get under the second apron to avoid the draft pick penalties that are coming, beyond that I think it is just being opportunistic. They have most if their future picks. Tatum and brown are just entering their prime years. Get the cap sheet in order and keep looking for the pieces that fit around those guys.
Pritchard makes short money. He, White and Brown shouldn’t be going anywhere. This sucks for Tatum who by all accounts is a good dude who plays the game the right way.
I know they are only one year removed from winning the championship but it’s time to blow up the team.
Holiday and Horford are on their last legs and Porzingis is always on his last legs.
Agreed and Brown has massive trade value too. Celtics can go young and aim to have Tatum back to normal in 2027.
Jaylen Brown to the Spurs for the #2 pick?
IDK about “blow up” the team but trading Holiday & Porzingis was already likely.
Holiday would be kept if they won it again, but Porzingis was a goner due to availability and Horford’s continued performance.
I was hoping for one more this year and then expected Boston to blow it up, keep White, Pritchard, Tatum and Brown and work to rebuild for another run.
Assuming he isn’t traded, it’s going to be all you can eat for Jaylen Brown next season.
im a pacer fan, was rly looking fwd to ecf rematch
heal up tatum. seriously, what a great player
im assuming he’s out for about 10 months?
My only positive is that it’s his right leg, not his left. As a right dominate player, his Left is the push off and cutting foot. His right is his off foot.
So that is one small consolation.
Wow this really sucks.
If my Celtics can’t win the championship I’ll be rooting for the Knicks, unless Steph Curry has a miracle recovery.
Knicks + Wolves NBA Finals or we riot
Celtics Offseason Depth Chart
PG: Holiday (32.4M), Pritchard (7.2M), Davison (2.3M TO)
SG: White (28.1M), Schierman (2.6M)
SF: Brown (53M), Hauser (10M), Walsh (2.2M)
PF: Tatum (54M), Horford (UFA), Craig (UFA)
C: Porzinigis (30.7M), Kornet (UFA), Queta (2.4M), Tillman (2.6M)
TOTAL: 227.8M
Second Apron: Projected 207.8M (20M over)
Much of Boston’s depth is built on Tatum being able to play a double SF lineup (don’t have a starting PF / don’t need a backup SF), and Holiday being able to play next to Pritchard (don’t need a backup SG).
Take Tatum away and the construction crumbles fast. You can sub Horford for him a few games here and there but not for an 82-game season (especially given Porzingis’ injury issues). They will need a starting caliber PF and those are hard to come by.
The easiest solution is likely salary dumping Porzingis. They can re-sign Horford/Kornet to be the starting PF/C duo for a fraction of the 31M he is making. The Nets have cap space and would likely be willing to eat the entire thing in exchange for a FRP (depending on protections). If Cam Johnson (22M) were to be part of the trade, as a natural stopgap for Tatum, then multiple firsts (I do not know Boston’s pick situation off the top of my head and whether this is realistic/viable).
Old friend Danny Ainge also has John Collins who makes 5M less than Porzingis if the Celtics decide to cut salary in other ways / give up SRPs instead.
If I had to guess – when Tatum returns, White will be the starting PG, Brown will be back at SG, and Tatum will be his natural SF. Holiday has been great in Boston and they should be reluctant to trade him. But age is not on his side and this might be the time to sell “high” (they still need to reduce salary). If Holiday is traded, Sam Hauser can fill the starting SF role in the interim. Otherwise if they keep Holiday, Hauser will likely need to be salary dumped too.
Once 2027 comes around – former Celtics like Marcus Smart and Robert Williams will be free agents. It wouldn’t shock me if they returned ala Horford on more affordable contracts to reload the bench. They weren’t problems in the organization.
Somewhere, Oshae Brissett is jumping up and down screaming pick me.
Let’s Go Knicks. Unfortunately, injuries happen. Look at what happened to the Knicks this time last year.
“Lets Go Knicks” on a post about Tatum tearing his achilles.
I know you guys haven’t won since my dad was in grade school but zoom out bro,
I mean, if Tatum is out, there’s zero need to do much of anything other than try to play the young guys and trim payroll.
Smart and Williams wont be back.
Smart and Williams aren’t options for next year, they are for 2027 when Tatum is healthy again.
They aren’t though. Smart, in particular, was part of the problem.
Smart as a starting PG wasn’t good enough. He wouldn’t be a starting PG in a BOS return.
And if he were a starter, those are the sacrifices teams need to make with cap/apron restrictions w/ Tatum/Brown on larger extensions.
Very minor point, but on the replays I saw it did not look like “an awkward step.” It looked like the kind of basketball move all players make dozens of time every game. Your basic non-contact injury that happened because the tendon was stressed and for some reason wasn’t able to take the pressure that one time. No point turning it into some “awkward” move. More important, Tatum is young and has KD as a model for what a full recovery can look like, even if it takes a while. I look for the guys to rally and give the Knicks a serious fight tomorrow night. In the meantime, Brad, show us how to move this forward. There will be lots of speculation as to what it might take to get the #1 or #2 in the draft, or to begin accumulating draft capital for the next few years. And let’s see if Scheierman can take a big step forward next year.
> Once 2027 comes around – former Celtics like Marcus
> Smart and Robert Williams will be free agents. It
> wouldn’t shock me if they returned ala Horford
IMO, that would be surprising. Their recent injury histories suggest they’re both unlikely to be on an NBA roster in 2 years. Neither can stay on the court.
Robert Williams is, literally, the least available player in the NBA over the last few years (playing 35, 6, and 20 games per season), with multiple season- ending injuries. Most believe he’s signed his last NBA contract.
Marcus Smart is not far behind (playing 20 and 34) games the last two seasons, and he’s a fringe rotation guy at this point. In 2 seasons, he’ll be 33 years old.
Marcus Smart is 31 years old and would be 32 when he hits Free Agency. He doesn’t have any major / career altering injuries. It’s finger / hand injuries and a knee contusion last year.
Robert Williams will still only be 29 when he hits free agency. He’s probably worth fliers at the minimum (as a high upside 3rd string) as he’s still effective when he takes the court.
Mini rebuild year incoming.
As a Pacers fan I am saddened by this news. Tatum is a special talent and seems to be a great guy. I know he reached out to Haliburton when he was voted the most overrated player in the league. Speaks volumes to his character. I wish him the best on his recovery and I hope he comes back to the level which we have all become familiar. A sad day for the NBA and for all the teams that value competition.
That was fast —- Get well Jason …
Celtics are still a top team. They can hold it down till Tatum comes back. As a low seed in playoffs they will be dangerous.
Wow… no joke. Durant and Dominique Wilkins had the best recovery from an Achilles tear… there’s some hope but damn.