Jayson Tatum’s heartbreaking call with dad revealed after crushing Achilles injury: ‘Why me?’
Tears were shed during Jayson Tatum’s heartbreaking call with his father, Justin, in the wake of the Celtics star’s season-ending Achilles injury Monday night.
When discussing the heart-wrenching call between father and son ESPN’s Marc J. Spears disclosed that Tatum, 27, asked his father, “Why me?” after he went down late in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ Game 4 loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in their second-round playoff series.
“Jayson ended up giving him a call once he was able to, they cried on the phone together, and Jayson was asking him, ‘Why me, Dad? Why me? Why does this have to happen to me?’” Spears said of the All-Star forward’s conversation with Justin, who coaches overseas.
“And he said, ‘Son, this is God’s will. You’re young, you’re going to get through this.’ And he reminded him that, ‘Isn’t Kobe your idol? Kobe got through this.’”
The late Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles in 2013 — 12 years before Tatum sustained the same injury.
The Celtics announced Tuesday that Tatum underwent successful surgery and there is no timeline for his return.
However, Justin relayed to Spears that he expects his son “to be out eight to nine months.”
“He asked Jayson, ‘Do I need to come home? I’ll leave Asia right now and go home right now,’ and Jayson said, ‘No, Dad, stay there and coach,'” Spears shared.
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Tatum, who had been chasing his second straight title with the Celtics, broke his silence Wednesday on social media following the surgery.
“Thankful for all the love and support,” he captioned an Instagram photo from the hospital.
Tatum put up a whopping 42 points in Monday’s 121-113 loss to the Knicks before exiting the game.
The Celtics entered Wednesday’s Game 5 with their season on the line after falling into a 3-1 hole.
Boston went on to throttle its rival in a 127-102 home win.
The series shifts back to New York on Friday for Game 6.
The winner of this series will face the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
