Yang Yi: Until the King of Nai Killing fell, the world finally began to praise Tatum

Jason Tatum fell.

At the most prosperous intersection in the world, in Mecca, the basketball world, Tatum left a back who needed to be supported and sent into the player's passage before falling to the ground with an injury. The final result was no surprise. Tatum was injured without confrontation and had obvious convulsions in the calf. He was diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon. In the early morning of May 14, the Celtics officially announced that Tatum had successfully undergone surgery.

I don't know if it is to comfort the fans, the Celtics said in its official announcement: "There is no timetable for Tatum's return, but he is believed to be able to achieve a complete recovery." But even if the team makes such a statement, it seems to be just a standard official document format. As for how much damage a ruptured Achilles tendon will cause to NBA players, everyone knows it well.

With the title of legendary killing king, he encountered the most terrifying injury in the NBA world. When such a cruel moment happened to him, we might only remember to look back at the way Jason Tatum came.

Back to this time eight years ago, the 2017 NBA lottery ceremony was a period when the Celtics were laughing: they won 53 wins in the regular season and ranked first in the Eastern Conference; on May 15, the Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards after seven hard battles, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals again after five years. The day after turning around, the NBA completed the lottery draw ceremony of that year. At that time, the lottery rules had not been modified. The Nets, which had a record of the last record in the league, had a chance of winning the No. 1 pick. There was no surprise at the ceremony. The Nets won this precious No. 1 pick and then handed it over to the Celtics. Because of the previous bid for a deal between Garnett and Pierce, the Nets took out almost all the first round picks from those years from their pockets. In 2017, the Celtics still enjoyed the right to swap the first round with the Nets, so they accepted the gift without hesitation.

The 2017 rookies who are about to enter the NBA also had a high evaluation at that time. They were considered one of the most talented players after the 2007 class led by Oden Durant. Three point guards Markle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Di Aaron Fox, as well as two forwards, Jason Tatum and Josh Jackson, were all considered the best in the class.

Because Thomas Jr., the team's first star, occupied the No. 1 position, the Celtics are more incest, but Danny Angie, who has always been known for her shrewdness, could not let go of any profit. He decided to sell the No. 1 pick to the 76ers who wanted Fultz more. At that time, the Lakers, who were second in the lead, would definitely choose Los Angeles local star Lonzo Ball. So as long as the third pick, Anji will definitely get one of the two forwards, and by the way, he can also get something from the 76ers. The Celtics then began their trial work, and both Tatum and Josh Jackson were invited. What many fans know now is that Josh Jackson rejected the Celtics at the time, because compared with other lotto teams, as a team with a relatively abundant lineup, the Celtics cannot provide a new player with enough playing time like other high-level teams.

Less well known that Tatum also almost rejected the Celtics because he was very satisfied with his trials in Phoenix first. "At that time, the head coach of Phoenix was Earl Watson. He praised my trial performance and told me, come here, you and Devin Booker will form a double killer combination, and your skin color is almost the same." Tatum was moved, so when the agent called and said that the Celtics also wanted him to participate in the trial, Tatum almost refused to go. Not only did he yearn for the Suns, but he even liked the Phoenix weather more than the cold Boston.

But the reason why Tatum is today's Tatum, not Josh Jackson, is that he has a good attitude. His college mentor, coach K, called and advised him: Go to Boston and have a look. Brad Stevens is a good coach, and he will definitely help you.

So Tatum went to Boston, and his trial at the Celtics became almost a legend. It is reported that Tatum performed very well at that time, which almost shocked the Celtics because the draft pick deals for the first and third picks were only in the intention stage. Danny Angie even swears that even if the 76ers don’t trade with him, he will choose Tatum with the No. 1 pick - but of course, Angie won’t let this happen. He issued a notice in the Celtics that everyone in the team knew that everyone in the trial performance must keep the secrets strictly and not reveal any rumors to the 76ers. Less than a month later, the Celtics successfully won the person they liked with the third pick of the year.

The changes in the Celtics continued during the offseason. When Carey Irving took the initiative to apply to leave the Cavaliers, Angie directly sent away the team's core Thomas Jr., and Claude, who left the team, also vacated the position of a main striker behind him. So unlike Josh Jackson's expectations, Tatum took the start in the first game of his Celtics' career. Because Gordon Hayward suffered a serious injury reimbursed 5 minutes into the season, Tatum was even given a greater responsibility and officially started his vigorous Celtic career..

But even if Tatum is no longer 100% himself, even if he never gets MVP and FMVP, he has already written a glorious enough story.

The moment he shouted "We Did it" in TD Garden on June 17, 2024, and raised his son to the sky against the flying green paper.