Celtics Star broke Achilles – NBC Connecticut

The Boston Celtics set out for bad news on Monday evening and they got it on Tuesday.

Jayson Tatum has an Achilles tendon with the right Achilles, the team said on Tuesday afternoon. Tatum was subjected to a “successful” operation on Tuesday, after he was previously subjected to an MRI in New York and, according to Celtics, “is expected to recover a complete recovery”.

Boston did not give a schedule for Tatum's return, but it is very likely that the injury will miss a significant part of the 2025-26 season.

The Celtics star suffered the injury with 2:58 in the fourth quarter of Boston's game 4 against the New York Knicks in the Madison Square Garden when he dived after a loose ball. Tatum fell awkwardly, without taking contact with Knick's Wing OG anunoby, and had to be worn by the court before it was transported by the halls of MSG in a wheelchair.

Jayson Tatum left game 4 against the Knicks after a creepy leg injury

“The fact that he had to be carried away – he is the guy who gets up directly,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla after the game. “… it is difficult to straighten a man like him.”

Tatum's injury is devastating for a Boston team at short notice, which has to move the Knicks 3-1 in its second round and win three games in a row without the star player going out an early playoff. The all-star striker was in game 4 before his injury was Brillant-Er was the first player in NBA history to record at least 42 points, seven made 3 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks in a playoff game and his absence is probably a fatality of Boston's playoff hopes.

However, the greater concern is in the long term because the Celtics are deep in the luxury tax and faced some difficult squad decisions before the violation of Tatum. The Celtics have already signed 228 million US dollars for the next season, and if they want to avoid stiff punishments for the second apron of the luxury tax, they have to shake their core.

Now that Tatum will miss a large part of the 2025-26 campaign, it is possible that the Shak-up will take a different form because the President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens and the new majority owner Bill Chisholm are trying to keep a new way forward.

Boston will strive to keep his season on Wednesday in game 5 in the TD Garden with the tip-off for 7 p.m.