Jayson Tatum’s season, and perhaps his world, came crashing down around him when he suffered an Achilles tear in Game 4 of this season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. Gut-wrenching as the moment was. Byron Scott and Olden Polynice were harsh on the Boston Celtics star, comparing him unfavorably with a Lakers legend of the past.
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On the Fast Break podcast, they had a conversation about NBA athletes showing grit. The duo highlighted one player in particular, whose determination to fight and give his best, even when injured, stood above the rest: Kobe Bryant.
With justification. The Lakers legend has proved time and again that he was cut from a different cloth.
During a game in 2009, he dislocated his right index finger during a game against the Indiana Pacers. But instead of leaving the game, he just snapped it right back into place.
Then, in 2013, he tore his Achilles against the Golden State Warriors but shot two free throws and left the court on his own feet (even though he would be carried through the tunnel later).
“Jayson Tatum takes a step to go get the ball – pop,” he said. “He’s on the ground, damn near dying. I mean, he’s rolling around, you can see the agony…”
Polynice went a step ahead and decided to mock Tatum, mimicking his facial expression and groaning noise from when he was in pain. Was it cool on the part of a perennial journeyman to do that? Definitely not, especially when his reactions to injuries were rarely tame. But Scott kept going on.
“He’s on a wheelchair. I was like, first of all, Kobe would never be wheeled out… Kobe would never be down, right? The most gangster sh*t I have ever seen on the basketball [court] – walks up, makes the two free-throws and walked out,” the three-time NBA champ added.
Pain thresholds are different for different players
But to be fair to Tatum, not all Achilles injuries are the same, and different players have different pain thresholds. It’s also important to note that Bryant suffered his injury during the regular season, in a year when the Lakers weren’t really considered contenders, when he was already 34. Tatum had a legitimate shot at defending a title and is only 27 years old.
So, his cries and devastated reaction could simply reflect the crushing realization that a long-term injury would derail his team’s championship hopes, and potentially his career. And it did, as Boston went on to lose the series to New York.
The fan reaction to Scott’s mocking was less than positive. They have not liked anyone joking about a potential career-ending major injury. Most of the league’s supporters are not Celtics fans. But comments sections all over the internet have wished Tatum the best and defended him from detractors.
Kobe also wasn’t above crying on occasion. One of his most iconic images is of him teary eyed after winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. In that image, Kobe is seen “crying hysterically” in a shower stall, holding the trophy.
In an interview, the late Bryant once said, “Mental toughness means, when you’re going through a really tough time, your body’s sore, whatever the case may be…Can’t get through this particular thing.”
“To me, being mentally tough means you can take your mind someplace else and concentrate on that other thing. To the point where that thing that was bothering you, is no longer a focus,” he declared.
