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Charles Barkley Thinks Jayson Tatum Should Call One Key Person After Achilles Injury

Andy Nesbitt

Jayson Tatum had surgery on his ruptured Achilles on Tuesday.
Jayson Tatum had surgery on his ruptured Achilles on Tuesday. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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Jayson Tatum's season came to a crushing end Monday night when he ruptured his Achilles in the final minutes of the Celtics' Game 4 loss to the Knicks.

Now his long road to recovery begins.

Charles Barkely had some good advice for the 27-year-old Celtics star. While Barkley never suffered this injury during his legendary playing career, he pointed out that Kevin Durant has and he said that Tatum's first phone call should be to Durant to find out everything he can about what this road to recovery will be like.

"First call I would make is to Kevin Durant... [he's] six years removed from the time he blew out his Achilles ... the best experience is somebody who's already experienced it before."

That's actually some really good advice from the NBA great.

Tatum underwent surgery on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after he suffered the injury. Tonight his Celtics will try to save their season at home when they face the Knicks in Game 5.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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