USATSI_18549169 — Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Jayson Tatum Doesn't Believe He'll Need Offseason Shoulder Surgery

In the NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum made more of an impact facilitating than scoring. In the Celtics' six-game series with the Warriors, he averaged 21.5 points, seven assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals.

Author:
Bobby Krivitsky
Jun 17, 2022 1:40 PM EDT

In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Jayson Tatum hurt his right shoulder while trying to attack Victor Oladipo off the dribble. The Celtics' star returned to the floor after a brief trip to the locker room, but the pain persisted throughout the remainder of Boston's playoff run.

Repeatedly, when Tatum got hit in a particular spot on his right shoulder, he would grab his arm and look to be in considerable pain.

In the NBA Finals, the All-NBA First Team member shot an appalling 36.7 percent from the field. However, he also took 7.3 threes per game and knocked them down at a 45.5 percent clip.

USATSI_18548947 — Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Tatum missed plenty of quality shots, but Andrew Wiggins did a terrific job as an on-ball defender against him, and the Warriors loaded up to limit the impact of Boston's top scoring option.

Still, this version of Tatum didn't resemble the one who delivered a 46-point masterpiece to outduel Giannis Antetokounmpo (44 points) to force a Game 7 against the Bucks.

To an extent, Tatum's shoulder injury played a role in that. But when Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe asked him if he believes he'll need offseason shoulder surgery, the Celtics' star stated he doesn't think that's the case.

USATSI_18549301 — Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Surgery or not, the offseason represents a chance for Tatum to heal and recharge. He's gone from the mental and physical grind of playing in the bubble in Orlando in 2020 to a truncated offseason, a trip to the playoffs, albeit ending five games after a play-in tournament victory, but then suiting up for Team USA before jumping into an NBA campaign that reached Game 6 of the Finals.

But when asked if this break is needed, Tatum responded: "I ain't got no choice now; it's the offseason; this is tough. Getting to this point and not accomplishing what we wanted to, it hurts, and we all could've done things better; I feel like I could've done a lot of things better. But like we said, we competed; we tried all season, all playoffs. Take some time off, enjoy it with your family, you'll rest, and get back to it."