A sport team’s worst nightmare is when they see they see their superstar player down on the ground writhing in pain. The visual usually indicates an injury, one that can make or break an entire season. The Boston Celtics just had to go through this with Jayson Tatum, whose achilles tear not only ended the Celtics’ chances at winning back-to-back titles, but possibly put the 27-year-old on the shelf for next season too.
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What’s worse is that Tatum’s sudden injury happened on a routine non-contact play, which seems to be more of a common occurrence in sports these days. Kevin Garnett certainly recognizes it. On the latest edition of his KG Certified podcast with fellow NBA legend Paul Pierce, KG spoke on how often players are getting hurt due to strange occurrences.
“The injuries look freakish,” the Hall of Famer said. “There’s guys like stepping towards the ball and like movement and shit. Stuff that we do every day. Stuff that you wouldn’t think about.” He later added that it would make more sense if players went down from tussling with opponents. Tatum wasn’t the only one who tore his Achilles recently, either. Bucks star Damian Lillard went down the same way in Milwaukee’s opening playoff series against the Pacers.
The Celtics were able to defeat the Knicks in Game 5 without Tatum, but were stomped in Game 6, ending their 2025 campaign toward a back-to-back championship. Boston’s entire series seemed like a stroke of bad luck. Two blown 20-point leads to go down 2-0 didn’t help, but Tatum going down was their nail in the coffin. KG understands that sometimes the pendulum of luck just doesn’t swing your way. And when you’re in the playoffs, you need as much luck as possible.
“When you making a run, like how you see all these teams making a run, you need a little luck. And sometimes his (gestures to Paul Pierce) good luck is my bad luck,” the 15-time All-Star said. Garnett then reflected on how somber he felt that Boston’s opportunity at cementing their dynasty fell through their fingers.
“It’s a perfect story if they go back and repeat. But that ain’t how it’s gonna be written. It’s gonna be written a whole another way then what we want. And that’s the beauty of the NBA.”
Meanwhile, the Knicks’ victory sends them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. Oddly enough, they’re playing the same team they faced when they were last there in 2000, the Pacers. This reignites one of the NBA’s greatest rivalries, something that excites KG to no end. The question is, which way will the pendulum of luck swing in the East?
