Twelve years after their last NBA Finals, lost in 2010 against the Lakers in Game 7, the Boston Celtics returned to the Finals this year, under the leadership of their superstar Jayson Tatum. At 34, the winger (or strong winger) managed fire play-offs, with 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.2 average assists in 24 games and carried his team, which ultimately lost 4-1 to the Golden State Warriors. And yet, the n°3 of the 2017 Draft (behind Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball) admitted that he was not at the top of his physical form, far from it. Not only was he diminished by a shoulder injury during the Conference Finals (4-3 against Miami), but he also suffered from a broken wrist for two months, as he told Bleacher Report.
Tatum takes off his brace in front of the cameras
“It was small, but it was like a little undisplaced shard. As if I had chipped a bone but it had not left the surface. We saw that the bone had grown on it, so it healed, but I was still in pain because I kept getting hit there or falling on it. So I guess I played with some sort of fracture for about two months. Then during the play-offs, there was action against Milwaukee in Game 3. I dunked, Giannis (Antetokounmpo) chased me and fouled me and I fell into the crowd. It was the most painful since the day I got hurt. I ended up getting a cortisone injection in my wrist that night (May 7, ed) and it showed. I lost the color in my hand because it kills fat cells and there is not much fat in my hand. After every game, I had to wear a splint to shoot and I took it off before the cameras saw me.” This did not actually show, and no doubt that Tatum (under contract until 2026 with Boston) will want take his revenge next season, this time being at 100% of his means.