Since entering the NBA as a highly touted rookie back in 2017, Jayson Tatum has never played fewer than 64 regular season games in his career.
In each of the last four campaigns, he suited up for at least 72 games (at an average of 36 minutes per contest) before embarking on lengthy playoff runs with the Boston Celtics. And in the offseason, he’s been well regarded as one of the most dedicated workers in the league.
For all intents and purposes, the superstar swingman has been the very definition of an iron man.
Until now.
In rupturing his Achilles in the final minutes of Monday’s second round, Game 4 loss to the Knicks, Tatum is forced to dive into uncharted territories as he attempts to work his way back from perhaps the most devastating and feared injury in sports. Maybe the injury was due to his non-stop hoops grind for the past decade; maybe it was simply bad luck.
Regardless, with Tatum on the shelf for the foreseeable future — likely the entire 2025-26 season — Boston’s aspirations for more championships are now presumably put on hold.
But I’m here to tell you that even with a healthy Tatum, the C’s faced an uphill battle to claw their way back into the title series this June.
When Tatum went down on Monday night, Boston trailed New York by nine points (113-104) with 2:58 remaining. The Knicks had all the momentum, and were likely headed for a home victory regardless.
Tatum’s non-contact tear was simply the final nail in the coffin.
Even if Boston was to roar back and steal the series from Jalen Brunson and the Knicks, an equally talented, equally hungry Pacers squad would await in the East Finals. If the Celtics were to sneak past Indiana, one of powerful Oklahoma City, Denver or Minnesota teams would be licking their chops in the championship round.
Bottom line: the age of parity in the basketball world is here, and it’s not going anywhere any time soon.
The Celtics hoisted their ever-elusive Banner 18 last June, and nobody can take that away from them. But their road to get there was admittedly well paved, and they caught numerous green lights along the way (i.e. no Jimmy Butler vs. the Heat; no Donovan Mitchell vs. the Cavs; an inexperienced, unproven Pacers team).
This year, Boston’s path was grittier, more daunting, as each of the playoff bound franchises had not only gotten healthier, but drastically improved. The 2025 postseason has been one of equality and unpredictability.
In the East, the upstart Pistons gave New York a real run for its money before falling in six games. The Magic pushed Boston to the brink in numerous games, stealing Game 3 in their home arena.
Out West, Minnesota “upset” the favored, Luka Doncic-led Lakers in Round 1. Denver and the LA Clippers went the distance, as did Golden State and a young Houston group.
The Thunder have now traded wins with the Nuggets in Round 2 (that series stands at 3-2 Thunder with Game 6 slated for Thursday night in Denver), while the Warriors and Timberwolves could very well be headed for seven games if it weren’t for an injury to Steph Curry.
Top-seeded OKC remains the odds on favorite to capture this year’s title. But if the last few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that any of the remaining teams are capable of summitting the mountain.
The talent pool across the NBA has never been more impressive, and the balance in that talent amongst the league’s 30 teams has arguably never been more aligned.
This is what the playoffs should look like: down-to-the-wire battles, fighting tooth and nail to survive and advance.
Injuries are an unfortunate yet inevitable part of the game, and Boston’s odds at winning it all would obviously be greater if Tatum never got hurt.
But even if their iron man was still in uniform, waltzing their way to another Larry O’Brien Trophy was never assured.
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Nick Giannino covers the Boston Celtics for CNHI Sports Boston. Contact him at NGiannino@nobmg.com
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.