Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was forced to accept some harsh new realities — both on and off the court — after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
Tatum, 27, underwent surgery in May after suffering the brutal injury during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. Not only is Tatum in danger of missing all of next season, the basketball superstar also had to adapt to some major changes in his everyday world.
“This is something that has really affected my life,” Tatum exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting his partnership with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and JOURNAVX. “Obviously, I got injured and I wasn’t able to play, but my day-to-day life really drastically changed. I had to move back to my mom’s house because I wasn’t able to go up and down steps. I had to stay on the first floor.“
Tatum said it would take him “50 minutes to take a shower and get dressed.”
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“I had a walker and I had a shower seat,” Tatum explained. “I had to make sure I didn’t slip in the shower. I had to be real careful. Things like that just really altered my life. That was really tough to deal with.”
While the move into his mom Brandy Cole’s Boston-area home wasn’t under “the best circumstances,” Tatum made the most of it.
“It was like high school,” he joked. “Who better to help you through this than the person that raised you? I couldn’t be more thankful to be in a position where my mom lived really close and I was able to stay with her.”
Tatum continued, “You know, she’d probably say I was hard-headed. Because I was still trying to do a lot of things on my own. I didn’t want much help, but she was always there.”
Not only was Tatum able to lean on the support of his mother, but the recovery process also allowed him to slow down a little bit and relax into Dad mode with his sons, Deuce, 7, and Dylan, 14 months.
“Normally, in the summertime, I’d be busy and traveling and going all these different places,” Tatum said. “But for the most part, I’ve just been in Boston. Deuce is in the second grade now. He’s at that age where it’s obvious he’s a little human. He’s a little version of me.”
Tatum added of his oldest son, “He’s comprehending things a lot more. He’s more attentive. The conversations are different than when he was 4. He’s my mini best friend that I just love being around.”
The Celtics star is on the road to recovery and plans to be around the team as much as possible moving forward, even recently hinting that he hasn’t ruled out playing in the upcoming season.
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Boston opens their 2025-2026 regular season schedule on October 22 at home against the Philadelphia 76ers.
During his rehab process, Tatum has partnered with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and treated his acute pain with JOURNAVX, the first new class of nonopioid pain medicine approved by the FDA in more than 20 years. Tatum was prescribed JOURNAVX after severe opioid side effects post-surgery.
“At about the four-week mark, I introduced some new things in rehab,” Tatum explained. “I was putting 50 percent weight bearing on my right leg and I experienced some discomfort and pain. That’s when I had a talk with my doctor about JOURNAVX. Like any medicine, there are side effects. But I didn’t have any side effects and it really relieved the pain.”
Tatum added, “Obviously, talk to your doctor. But there are options and choices that you have.”
