Celtics' Jayson Tatum Admits He Feared Career Was Over After Achilles Tear

May 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA: Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) is helped off the court by after an injury in the second half during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Tatum would leave the game with an injury after this play. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Could six-time All-Star Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum actually return to the hardwood before the end of the 2025-26 NBA season?

The 6-foot-8 Duke product tore his Achilles tendon during Game 4 of Boston's doomed second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks in May, and went under the knife for an instant surgery.

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During an exclusive new conversation with Eileen Finan of People, Tatum admitted that he was unsure he'd ever be able to play again in the immediate aftermath of the Achilles tear.

Jayson Tatum Opens Up About His Agonizing Injury — and How Sons Deuce and Dylan ‘Kept My Spirits Up’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/G1lEfoN46D

— People (@people) September 23, 2025

In fairness, in prior generations it was indeed permanently career-altering. Now, there's at least a chance he'll recapture his All-NBA First Team form when he does come back.

"It sounded like a gunshot. It was almost as if I had headphones on when I heard it. It was the loudest pop,” Tatum said of the initial injury. "[When I hit the ground] I just kept saying, 'No, no, no way this just happened to me.' I'm turning on my butt, smacking the ground, 'cause I knew right away what just happened."

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Celtics personnel helped Tatum off the floor, and pushed him into the locker room in a wheelchair.

“I broke down crying. I thought, ‘Will I ever be the same?’ At 27, I felt invincible. It all changed in a moment,” Tatum said.

"It's so triggering. It was a sad day," Tatum observed of watching game tape of the injury.

A Sad Scene in the Visitors' Locker Room

Tatum admitted to Finan that, with his mother, Brandy Cole, and his trainer standing by, he was sobbing for hours in the visitors' locker room within Madison Square Garden that fateful night.

"I literally sat there and cried for two hours 'cause so many things ran through my mind: 'Damn, is my career over? Am I going to get traded? Are all my partners going to drop me?' My basketball career flashed in front of my eyes," Tatum noted. "I’m in my prime, one of the best basketball players in the world, and it felt like it was all taken away."

In 72 healthy regular season contests last season, Tatum averaged 26.8 points on .452/.343/.814 shooting splits, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.1 swipes and 0.5 rejections per.

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