Los Angeles Lakers fans are very familiar with this injury. It's the same injury that Kobe Bryant suffered back in the 2013 season, also late in the season. Tatum idolized Bryant growing up, calling him his favorite player as a kid. Now that he has suffered the same injury as his idol, fans have compared the two getting the same injury.

Jayson Tatum has been open for his entire basketball career about the way he idolizes the late, great Kobe Bryant. And now, after the worst news of Tatum's career, that admiration comes into focus more than ever.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s ruptured Achilles tendon in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals has been a heartbreaking moment not only for the basketball world but also for his family.