Jalen Brunson pays heartfelt tribute to injured rival Jayson Tatum

On Tuesday, it was announced that Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon during the Boston Celtics' Game 4 (Monday) loss to the New York Knicks. While the news wasn't entirely surprising given how the star forward went down during a noncontact play, it dealt both Celtics fans and the NBA community a crushing blow.

In response to the injury update and Tatum having gone through surgery, Jalen Brunson shared some heartfelt words while speaking with members of the press on Wednesday:

"I feel for him," Brunson said. " ... The league needs Jayson Tatum. He still has a lot to do in his career, a lot of time left to make an impact and make a name for his legacy. What he's done is special."

Given the timing of the injury, the expectation is that Tatum will miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season.

Throughout his career, Tatum played in every possible playoff game for Boston, up until a wrist injury sidelined him for Game 2 of the Celtics-Knicks series last Wednesday.

Boston faces the daunting task of attempting to come back from a 3-2 deficit without one of their two franchise cornerstones.

Jayson Tatum's Achilles surgery reportedly goes off without a hitch despite common complications

Achilles tendon tears are one of the most daunting injuries in all of sports. While players who suffered torn ACLs typically return to action in 6-12 months, ESPN cited that Achilles tears take an average of 10 months to recover from.

According to data it shared, 70-80% of the players returning from Achilles tears aren't able to perform the same way they did pre-injury.

However, in an April 29 story by ESPN's Stephania Bell regarding Damian Lillard's Achilles tear, the NBA players who suffered the same injury who were in the twilight years of their careers did not return to the same level in their earlier years in the league.

Fortunately for Tatum and Celtics fans, according to the Globe's Adam Himmelsbach, the faster the surgery is performed, the more favorable the outcome will be.

In Tatum's case, the surgery was performed less than 24 hours after the injury occurred, and according to Himmelsbach, while complications are common during surgery, Tatum had none.

"The Celtics were encouraged when Tatum emerged from surgery with no further issues,” Himmelsbach wrote on Tuesday.

The All-Star forward will have a lengthy road to recovery, while Boston looks to stave off elimination on Wednesday.