Jayson Tatum wasn’t the only Celtics star to suffer an injury in this year’s NBA playoffs. His teammate and co-star Jaylen Brown, will also be seeking treatment this summer after playing through the final stretch of the season with a partially torn meniscus.
“Jaylen Brown finished the season with a partially torn right meniscus,” reported ESPN’s Ramina Shelburne. “Brown had been playing in pain during the last month of the regular season and the playoffs, which concluded with Friday’s Game 6 loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He will be evaluated this week to determine if surgery is needed, sources said. ESPN previously reported that Brown had received pain injections in his knee. Those injections began in March.”
After winning the NBA championship last summer, the Celtics began this season with high hopes of making another title run. With the same star-studded roster as before, the Cs got off to a hot start early on to secure the second seed in the East (61-21), and they were among the favorites to make the Finals.
After beating the Orlando Magic in the first round, the Celtics prepared for their toughest fight yet: against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Semifinals. Boston went 4-0 against the Knicks in the regular season, but it was a different story in the playoffs.
Suddenly, after losing the first two games at home, the Celtics were on their heels, and while they did manage to win one game on the road, disaster would soon strike. In a crucial loss at Madison Square Garden in Game 4, Tatum dropped 42 points before tearing his Achilles in the fourth quarter.
He was out for the rest of the playoffs, forcing the Celtics to play with half of their leading duo. Of course, as it turns out, Jaylen Brown was also dealing with an injury, and it explains why he averaged just 21.3 points per game in the series on 40.4% shooting.
Sometime in March, Brown began receiving injections in his knee to block out the pain, but when the playoffs began, it became harder to play up to his usual standards. With the Celtics now eliminated, Jaylen can now begin the recovery process, which may or may not include surgery on his right leg. In 63 games this season, Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 46.3% shooting. The 4x All-Star has been a model of consistency for the Celtics with at least 60 or more games played in all but two seasons.
While Brown is expected to return to full strength on the court, it’s still a major blow to the Celtics, who are less than a year removed from their last title. With Brown and Tatum, Boston thought they’d be contenders for years to come, but now everything is in jeopardy with both of their stars suffering major injuries.
At the very least, we know that the Celtics will need a full season to fully recover, meaning that the 2025-26 campaign will likely be a wash for them. With so much at stake and some major decisions looming, this summer will be an important one for the Celtics, and it might just set the stage for how this next stretch of history is defined for the franchise.
