During the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Celtics all-stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both suffered career altering injuries. Tatum ruptured his right achilles tendon in game four with the Celtics falling to the Knicks 121-113 despite Tatum scoring 42 points. Brown tore his meniscus; however, he played through the gruesome injury in the series.
Tatum’s injury could see him off the court for eight to nine months, so he will most likely return in January or February 2026, which would be after the start of the 2025-2026 season. Tatum suffered the injury with just under three minutes and ten seconds left in the fourth quarter trying to stop a fast break by Knicks’ small forward OG Anunoby. The injury was non-contact, so no one thought it was anything major at first, until a clip or his achilles popping emerged.
Prior to the devastating injury, Tatum was having one of the best seasons of his NBA career, coming fourth in MVP voting. He was behind only Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Bucks’ Giannis Antetokunmpo. Tatum was top three in steals per game with 2.1, top five in rebounds per game with 11.5 and top ten in points per game with 28.1.
Brown’s torn meniscus could require him to have surgery and he may not be at his same skill again by the start of the 2025-2026 season. Brown has a history of knee issues, being out for 11 games from March 2 to April 26 with a right knee injury. However, Brown was able to push through the playoffs by taking pain shots for his knee.
Brown had a solid season prior to the Celtics final game. He averaged 22.2 points, 1.1 steals, 4 assists and 6.5 rebounds a game on an average of 35 minutes a game. In the season, Brown had a three-point percentage of 33%, a field goal percentage of 45% and a free-throw percentage of 76%.
While Brown will be back for the upcoming season, Tatum being out could prove detrimental to the Celtics organization and to the hopes of fans.
