Jayson Tatum Explains 'Unfortunate Timing' of Knee Issue and Why it Felt Inevitable

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum’s return from his Achilles tear was one of the most inspiring stories in sports this year. What Tatum was able to do less than 10 months after his surgery was unprecedented, and will serve as a blueprint for how NBA players recover from this injury in the future. 

But once again, Tatum had to watch his teammates from the bench, this time as they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers.

“It was tough. I was, I mean, I was upset. I was sad,” Tatum said at his exit interview Saturday afternoon. “I didn’t think it was going to end that way. I spent too much time on the bench watching the team play so I knew how that felt. It just kind of never really crossed my mind, that once I came back everything was going so well. So to have to sit yesterday in the biggest game of the season and just not being able to be out there and be a part of that, obviously because everybody knows how much I care about this game and love being out there. So just having to sit there in that moment, it was just tough. It was frustrating.”

Tatum characterized the issue as simple tightness that was day-to-day, and he said he was sure he’d be able to play in the second round if Boston had advanced. More than anything, the knee issue was a reminder that Tatum is still rehabbing after his right Achilles injury.

“I'm still in the window — I was in the window of return to play protocol and there were just certain rules and a plan that ultimately that we had to stick by,” Tatum said. “It was tough, obviously, working as hard as I did to come back and to be available and for it to come to a Game 7, not be able to be out there. I just keep saying this was unfortunate and it's tough to deal with, but it's a plan that we have to stick to.”

For the first time since his return, Tatum opened up about the challenge of coming back, and acknowledged that despite how things looked, he was still not his normal self. 

“Since the day I had surgery, rehab just went so well and we just kept climbing and defying the odds and doing things that people didn't think were possible and the whole nine,” he said. “It doesn't mean that I'm indestructible or hiccups don't happen along the way. And then just when it did, it just happened to be at a very unfortunate time … 

“For me to even be able to come back and play and play at the level I was playing at even at 80, 85% ... one of my legs is still smaller than the other one. And so now that I get a long offseason to really get back to 110%, I guess that's the silver lining of it all.”

Using the phrase “ticking time bomb” would be over the top, but Tatum seemed to embrace a level of inevitability that, because one leg was stronger than the other, that some level of overcompensation would lead to an issue. Now that it’s over, that silver lining Tatum mentioned is what will drive his next challenge. 

"The last 51 weeks I've been extremely dedicated. Countless hours of rehab. Getting my strength back. Learning how to walk again and run and jump and get back to conditioning,” he said. “I was able to prove to myself that I could play this game at a very, very high level. … Now, getting an extended period of time to deload and take some time off and come back next season 100%, 110% ready. Get my body right and get my right calf bigger compared to my left one. I'm excited about that."

This Celtics season started with no expectations whatsoever from Tatum and the team. That flipped into the highest of expectations and disappointment after a playoff collapse with Tatum watching along in street clothes. Despite the way things ended, Tatum says coming back was 100 percent the right call. 

“I'm very happy that I came back to be a part of his team, to get back to doing what I love, to help us, give us a chance to compete for a championship, to prove to myself that I can get back to being the guy who I was, and hopefully better,” he said. “I'm happy and proud of the fact that I was able to do that. And, unfortunately, if somebody else has to deal with this, they can look at what I was able to do and have some hope and inspiration that it's not what people used to think it was. And you can come back from this and be who you were and hopefully be better.”