Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum suffered a non-contact injury late in his team’s playoff game against the New York Knicks on Monday night.
The Celtics trailed the Knicks 111-104 with just over three minutes left in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. Tatum tried to deliver a pass to Jaylen Brown that was deflected from behind by Knicks wing Mikal Bridges.
As Tatum tried to dive for the loose ball, he appeared to tweak something in his right leg. The Celtics star was seen writhing in pain as OG Anunoby took the ball the other way for an uncontested Knicks dunk. Boston was forced to call its final timeout to get its star player off the floor.
Jayson Tatum was helped off the court late in Game 4 after an apparent leg injury on this play. pic.twitter.com/UF8D4mxqlo
— ESPN (@espn) May 13, 2025
Tatum could not put any weight on his leg as he was carried off the court. He was eventually taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. The non-contact nature of his injury has some fearing that the six-time All-Star tore his Achilles tendon.
The Celtics superstar finished with a game-high 42 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. But it wasn’t enough for Boston as New York won 121-113 to take a 3-1 series lead.
Tatum has thus far stayed relatively healthy throughout his eight-year NBA career. He’s never missed more than 18 games for the Celtics in a single season. The 27-year-old has also played in at least 72 regular season games in each of the last four seasons.
