Jason Tatum's game 4 Achilles injury marks a huge shifting point for both the Celtics and the League alike
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00:00Yesterday, the Boston Celtics announced that All-Star forward Jason Tatum underwent surgery to repair his torn Achilles that he suffered in the 121-113 loss to the Knicks in Game 4 Monday night.
00:10This injury not only changed the future of the Boston Celtics, but of the entire NBA.
00:16For the Celtics, talks of a dynasty are all but done.
00:19With Tatum all but likely missing a large part of the next season,
00:22on top of the many rumors that there were going to be massive changes coming to the Celtics to get the team under the second apron,
00:27the 2025-26 Boston Celtics will look significantly different than their championship core just one year ago.
00:33And with the Celtics potentially blowing it up this offseason, and Giannis potentially leaving Milwaukee,
00:38the Eastern Conference will be as wide open as ever.
00:42So what other injuries potentially changed the NBA landscape as much as the Tatum injury?
00:46A first-year All-NBA player in their 20s suffering a career-altering injury while still in their prime.
00:51Well, the first one that comes to mind is Derrick Rose tearing his ACL at just 23 in the playoffs,
00:56and never returning to the MVP player he once was.
01:00Knicks legend Bernard King ruptured his ACL and meniscus coming off an MVP runner-up season at age 28,
01:06and, like Rose, was never able to return to the player he once was prior to the injury.
01:11As for players who also ruptured their Achilles,
01:13Kobe Bryant's injury at age 34 effectively ended his prime.
01:17DeMarcus Cousins' career changed after he tore his Achilles.
01:20Kevin Durant eventually returned to form after tearing his Achilles in the NBA Finals at age 31,
01:24but it would take him 18 months to return to action,
01:28and he wouldn't play more than 55 games over the next three seasons.
01:31It is hard to tell how long Tatum will miss,
01:34as every player's rehab from an Achilles injuries are different.
01:37Some take eight months, some take nearly two years.
01:40But many people do believe that Tatum will miss most, if not all, of next season.
01:45Historically, the younger you are, the easier it is to recover from an Achilles tear,
01:48and Tatum has been fairly healthy throughout his NBA career.
01:52But it's safe to say that the NBA landscape looks a whole lot different now
01:56than it did when we all woke up Monday morning.