All eyes were on Madison Square Garden last night as the Boston Celtics attempted to tie up their conference semi-final series with the New York Knicks, and while Boston ended up falling short in Game 4, the biggest loss came late in the 4th quarter as Jayson Tatum crumpled to the ground with was appears to be a significant Achilles injury.
Tatum is scheduled to undergo an MRI today, and we should get a confirmation about the extent of his injury later this afternoon. With that said, given the mechanism of his injury and the discomfort he was in while on the court and after the game, all signs are pointing to a rather significant Achilles injury.
All signs point to a major Achilles injury for Jayson Tatum. More on our blog shortly. pic.twitter.com/Dba9P9ybFw
— Lance Silverman, MD FAAOS (@anklefootmd) May 13, 2025
Dr. Silverman Breaks Down The Injury And Recovery Outlook
From the video, we can see that Tatum appears to experience a “pop” in the Achilles tendon area while performing an eccentric contraction of the gastrocnemius muscle (the calf muscle) with a large amount of force. An eccentric contraction occurs when a muscle lengthens under tension, such as when the gastrocnemius controls ankle dorsiflexion (e.g., landing from a jump or pushing off during sprinting).
The Achilles tendon connects the gastrocnemius and soleus to the calcaneus (heel bone) and is designed to handle significant tensile forces during activities like running, jumping, or cutting—common in basketball. In this scenario, Tatum pushed off to grab a loose ball, maneuvering his foot into ankle dorsiflexion with maximal gastrocnemius contraction, which is a classic mechanism for an Achilles tendon rupture. Oftentimes this leads to what’s known as a midsubstance Achilles tendon rupture. A midsubstance rupture refers to a tear in the main body of the Achilles tendon, typically 2–6 cm above the calcaneal insertion, as opposed to an insertional rupture (at the heel).
If Tatum did suffer a midsubstance Achilles tendon rupture, he will likely undergo surgery, as it tends to have much better results, especially for professional athletes. Open or minimally invasive repair is common for athletes to restore strength and reduce re-rupture risk (2–4% with surgery vs. 10–12% non-surgical). The recovery timeline is 6–12 months for return to competitive play, with 9–12 months typical for NBA athletes.
For example: Kevin Durant (2019 Achilles rupture) returned after ~12 months; Klay Thompson (2020) faced a longer recovery due to additional injuries. Given when this injury occurred, it’s certainly possible that Tatum misses the entire 2025-26 season should an Achilles rupture be confirmed. We’ll wait on an official word, but it seems likely that this year’s Celtics team is in trouble, and their future may be in jeopardy if an Achilles rupture is confirmed later today.