The Boston Celtics received a massive blow to their title chances during Game 4 of their semifinal series against the New York Knicks, after superstar Jayson Tatum went down with an injury.
The issue was quickly revealed to be a ruptured Achilles tendon, which will see the Celtics champion miss close to a full calendar year, meaning not only the rest of the postseason but possibly all of next season.
Following the heart-breaking injury, one basketball insider has revealed an emotional conversation between Tatum and his father, Justin Tatum the head coach of reigning NBL champions the Illawarra Hawks.
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Jayson Tatum's emotional conversation with NBL champion father
In a horror stroke of luck, Jayson Tatum went from chasing back-to-back NBA championships to facing nearly a year out of the game, after rupturing his Achilles against New York.
According to NBA expert Marc Spears, this lead to an emotional phone call with his father Justin Tatum, where the two processed the injury news together.
"Justin, having played college and pro basketball himself, knew he felt that that was an Achilles injury. He said that, within ten minutes, Jason’s mom called him, Brandy, told him what had happened," Spears said.
"He got off the phone, started bawling, he told me, walked away from his team to try to collect his self, and Jason ended up giving him a call once he was able to. They cried on the phone together, and Jason was asking him, 'Why me, dad? Why me?'
"He said, 'Son, this is God’s will. You’re young. You’re gonna get through this.' And he reminded him that, 'Isn’t Kobe your idol? Kobe got through this.'"
The injury is a tough blow for Tatum who has been one of the most reliable stars in the NBA, missing just 59 career games across his eight-year career.
But the Celtics were inspired in his absence - at least in Game 5 - defeating the Knicks by 25 points in the TD Garden.