While Jayson Tatum's now the face of the Boston Celtics, his childhood hero was Kobe Bryant, who held that distinction for their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers.
The former has followed in the latter's footsteps, leading his team to championship heights. He's also accrued All-NBA First Team and All-Star selections, just like his idol.
Tatum even earned the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP Award in 2024. He set a scoring record that evening, registering 55 points, the most ever at the league's marquee exhibition event.
Unfortunately, an Achilles tear is another commonality between them. However, that could be another example for Tatum to follow on his road to recovery.
Will Jayson Tatum try to return as fast as Kobe Bryant did?
After Bryant tore his Achilles, the future Basketball Hall of Famer returned in nine months. Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor believes Tatum will try to do the same.
"If you get past the All-Star break, and you're kind of in that playoff/play-in race, the last thing you want to do is stick a guy back in that's gonna need some training wheels for a while," Chris Mannix told O'Connor during a recent appearance on the latter's eponymously named show.
"You're not putting Jayson Tatum back into the middle of a playoff race coming off an Achilles injury," he continued. "I haven't talked to enough people around Tatum to be certain about this, but, you know, past the All-Star break … if he's not ramped all the way up, they're not gonna bring him back next year."
That's a rational assessment. Even a SpeedBridge procedure that would allow Tatum to start rehabbing sooner wouldn't change that it's safer to err on the side of caution when contemplating whether the Celtics' star will play next season.
However, O'Connor makes a fair counterargument, stating, "This is the dude who texted Kobe after Kobe passed away," he returned in "like nine months. That's what I'm saying. Tatum's gonna try to do what Kobe did. Come back fast."
But as Mannix emphasized, that could be a case where the team has to protect the player from himself.
"If you're Boston, you don't let him," voiced Mannix.
Tatum can gain inspiration from examples like Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Dominique Wilkins, the latter of whom recently offered the former advice. However, returning too soon is a prospect that can do more harm than good.
No matter how challenging it may prove to stay patient as Tatum's return inches closer, it's a virtue that must be exercised.