Not that there was ever much doubt about the kind of human being Jayson Tatum is, but we got further proof on Saturday when Donte DiVincenzo confirmed, via his exit interview with the Timberwolves, that has already heard from Tatum after tearing his Achilles in the team’s first round series win over the Nuggets.
Last season, we saw Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton all suffer the same gruesome fate with the Achilles tears, and this season, we’ve already seen the same for DiVincenzo.
After DDV initially suffered the injury, we heard Tatum offer support and say that he would definitely reach out to Donte and that he was in his corner. And on Saturday, talking about all three of Tatum, Dame, and Haliburton, DiVincenzo stated that he has spoken with them, and that, “They’ve all helped me in different ways, and all their journeys are different.”
While it’s obviously awful to see these players go through this, it’s great to see the brotherhood that has been formed by this shared experience. Sadly, with the way the game is played, it seems like there are more soft tissue injuries to calves and Achilles’ than ever, but luckily, the recovery process has come a long way as well.
Tatum set new standard for Achilles recovery
And while DiVicenzo should have lots of supporters, it’s going to be hard to find someone better than Tatum to lean on and learn from. JT set the bar for Achilles recoveries with his remarkable return in early March, not even 10 months after the injury.
Sure, there was some rust, but by the end of the regular season and in the playoffs, Tatum looked close to the peak of his powers and was logging major nightly minutes on a playoff team. Clearly, that took its toll, and he had to miss Game 7 of the loss to Philly due to a sore “knee” (calf). But that’s another story, and it doesn’t sound like it was anything serious.
Tatum should be back at full strength and ready to go to start next season, and hopefully get back to his All-NBA form for an entire season and playoff run for the Celtics. That certainly may be an ambitious goal for DiVincenzo to return to form so quickly, but Tatum has shown that it’s possible, and given hope to Donte and players all over who suffer a similar injury.
Add us as a preferred source on Google