How Lakers' Kobe Bryant's Achilles Recovery and Post-Injury Performance Can Help Celtic Fans Today

The Boston Celtics have a rough road ahead without Jayson Tatum. Tatum tore his Achilles during Game 4 against the Knicks, meaning he will miss the rest of the playoffs and most of next year.

This is certainly going to be a tough recovery for him and something that will take quite a while. It's not something that Tatum has ever had to face.

The Celtics look like they are about to end their season soon against the Knicks, leading to an interesting offseason. Fans are also hoping that Tatum is still going to be able to perform at his current level.

While Celtics fans are looking for some optimism around his recovery next year, they should look at what Kobe Bryant did when he suffered the same injury at the end of the 2013 season.

Bryant tore his Achilles late in his career and was still able to play at a moderately effective level, even at the tail end of his career. Tatum is in the prime of his career right now, so he should be able to play at an even higher level when he comes back.

Tatum looked up to Bryant when he was a kid, as did many current NBA players. He was this generation's Michael Jordan, so a lot of players wanted to be like him.

While Bryant wasn't able to win a championship after his injury, that had more to do with the team that he had around him. As long as Tatum has Jaylen Brown with him, he should be able to contend for more titles.

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Tatum is going to attack his rehab as forcefully as he can to make sure that he comes back as quickly as he can. Fans should be confident that Tatum will still play at an All-NBA caliber for years to come.

Tatum is going to attack this injury with the same force that Bryant did. He didn't want to be like his idol in this way, but it's another way he can be just like him.

This season, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and six assists per game.

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