Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on return from torn Achilles: ‘I’m not saying that I’m not playing this season’

Jayson Tatum was crushed. Physically. Emotionally. Here he was, a top-five player in the world on a Celtics team with a legitimate chance to be the first NBA repeat champions since Kevin Durant was living in the Bay Area, then suddenly, after diving for a loose ball, he was lying on the court at Madison Square Garden in incredible pain with what he knew was a torn Achilles.

Tatum confided all of this in one of the pillars of his support, his mother, he told Andrew Grief of NBC News.

“It was almost like I felt betrayed,” Tatum said of the injury. “I was one of those guys that I never wanted to sit out… I feel like I took care of my body. I didn’t cheat the game. When it was time to rest, I rested. When it was time to work out or lift or get treatment or whatever it was, I felt like I always stayed on top of my routine.

“So for this to happen, it was just like, man, this was not supposed to happen to me. And for a while, I was kind of like — it may sound dramatic, but I remember telling my mom, like ‘Mom, I might be done. I don’t know if I’ll be able to overcome this or if I’m up for this challenge.’ You know, I just felt defeated. And there was a time I was like, I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.”

The mental toughness and fight that led Tatum to become one of the top five players in the world eventually kicked in, and he has gotten on top of his recovery routine, working toward a return. Both in his interview with NBC News and in his appearance on TODAY with Jenna & Friends, he emphasized that this is a day-to-day process. And he would not rule out a return this season.

“Like, [day to day] how I’ve approached this process, is like, man, the most important thing is making a full recovery. I’m not saying that I’m not playing this season.

“I’m not taking that off the table, because, you know, for me as a competitor, every day I go into the weight room and do rehab, I’m working towards something, obviously, coming back 100%, whenever that is.”

Whether Tatum returns this season could hinge on several factors, the most important being his body and recovery, but also where the Celtics are in the playoff chase in the later stages of the season. Would it be worth the risk? This is a Boston team that sent out two key veteran players from their championship team — Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday — because of the NBA’s restrictive second apron. There are expectations in league circles that this will be a bit of a gap year for Boston, which will retool next summer with a healthy Tatum and Jaylen Brown and make another title run. New owner Bill Chisholm said he will do whatever it takes for this team to win.

Tatum will be at the heart of that — and maybe even be part of this season. He has a goal, he will not rule it out.