The Achilles injury has became a well talked about, more common injury this year and due in part by injuries that occurred to three All Stars in the playoffs. Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Haliburton all went down with crucial Achilles tears that will sideline them for at least far past the 2026 All Star Game. Lillard (34 at the time of the injury) and Haliburton (25) are both ruled out for the season prioritizing rehabbing and recovering in time for the 2026-27 season, while Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are not ruling out a potential return in time before the playoffs though it is all assumed that the Celtics will sit him out for season to avoid potential of re-hurting or causing any more damage to his Achilles so he can be healthy for next season. Now, in this post, I will go through some past injuries and try to back up my claims with information. After this post is out, I will post a cool little stat showing past players before and after Achilles injuries and I personally feel like it doesn't tell the full story, so I will take my time and lay out everything for you and give you my thoughts then let you create your own thoughts and opinions.
About The Achilles Injury
So an Achilles tear happens when the strong tendon in the back of your ankle rips, which makes it hard or impossible to push off your foot when you run or jump. This tendon works like a rubber band, transferring power from your calf muscles to your foot so you can move explosively. When it tears, the body loses that power connection, causing weakness, slower movement, and balance problems. Even after surgery and rehab, athletes often regain strength but may lose some quickness because the tendon can't stretch and snap back exactly the same as before.
Fun personal fact: I sprained my Achilles two years ago playing outside when I was out of town at an event and though I never tore anything, I have noticed that my ankle has not been the same since (especially running). I am not as quick as I once was, not as agile, and I feel like twisting my ankle has became much easier now then when it was two years ago. Age may also be a factor, but I am putting this little tidbit in just to say I have an idea what they may go through and back the information up top.
Who Has Sustained An Achilles Injury In The NBA
An achilles injury is not as common as you may see in an ACL or a hamstring, but there are still a good bit of NBA players who were affected from this injury. Anderson Varejao, Mehmet Okur, Voshon Lenard, Maurice Taylor, LaPhonso Ellis, and even Chauncey Billups near the end of his career all suffered the same fate. But, there are nine players I want to focus on in this post. They are Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Wesley Matthews, Brandon Jennings, Kobe Bryant, Elton Brand, and Dominique Wilkins.
Elton Brand (Tore: August 2007; Age: 28)
Brand was a skilled PF who mostly worked down low working for buckets and was a fantastic rebounder and rim protector for his time until he suffered an Achilles rupture in the 2007 off-season. Before the injury, he was a consistent 20 PPG, 9 RPG, with almost 2 BPG. When he returned from injury for the last eight games of the 2007-08 season, you could say he was getting back to his old roots posting 17.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.9 BPG, but you could tell they tried feeding the ball. His FG% went down and he kept getting fouled and tried to get him on the line. As there could had been any hopefuls thinking he can bounce back from the injury were proven wrong when he signed with the Sixers as a starter and went from 17 PPG to 13 and obviously looking like a shell of his former self. In hindsight, it was obvious that his struggles after the return was because he lost his power and explosion to his game that he once used that is no longer there as the repaired Achilles hindered his vertical pop and quick second jump.
DeMarcus Cousins (Tore: January 2018; Age: 27)
You can say Boogie was a last of his kind in a new generation. Not only can he beat you with his pure strength and size disadvantage, but his height as well standing at 6'10. He was finally being taken seriously by the media while having one of his best seasons of all time and with the success of the twin towers in New Orleans with his counterpart in Anthony Davis until January 26, 2018 when he left the game with an Achilles injury. He went from 24 PPG and 12 RPG to just statistically going down hill year after year until it got to the point teams didn't want to re-sign him because he became a liability to the team. He became flat footed and lacked every strength he once had and just became a big body or decoy when thrown in games.
Rudy Gay (Tore: January 2017; Age: 30)
This injury caused the Kings to trade Cousins and start fresh with younger players. Rudy Gay had always been a fringe All Star averaging below 20 PPG in his last three seasons before his injury in 2017. There seemed to be a one-two punch in Sacramento with Gay and Cousins and it seemed very likely that the Kings would want to add a third star to help their playoff push to encourage both of them (who had one and two years left on their contract) to re-sign. That all didn't happen as Rudy Gay got hurt and they started off from scratch, with Gay taking a smaller contract with San Antonio and immediately dropped in efficiency. He was once a second option scorer and later moved to be a depth piece on a young, inexperienced Spurs team.
Klay Thompson (Tore: November 2020; Age: 30)
His injury occurred the recent out of everybody on this list, and missed more time than the majority of players on this list, but it did not affect him in the positive direction. As we all know that Klay got hurt in the 2019 NBA Finals with an ACL tear and healed and returned to practice in 2020, but missed the 2020-21 season due to tearing his Achilles in a scrimmage. The once always reliable Thompson became a "will he ever play" situation after getting a contract extension not long before the Achilles injury. He returned to help the Warriors in the playoffs, but became more of a stationary shooter than a all around guy he was once, but also I have to factor that this was due in part to injuries not a singular injury. His efficiency was down, the stats said otherwise scoring 20 PPG, but his FG% was down and was shooting more than he was during his golden era of 2014-19. He is a hard one to dissect because it is not solely on the Achilles but on his entire lower body ailments.
Wesley Matthews (Tore: March 2015; Age: 28)
Before working on this project, I honestly was unaware of him tearing his Achilles. He was once a rising star in the league and a top 3 point shooter, then in 2015 tore his Achilles near the end of his season. He was a 16 PPG catch and shoot type, second scorer type player beforehand and resorted to a Kyle Korver starting role with 13.1 PPG being the highest he was able to average per season. His FG% and 3PT% didn't take much of a dip, though he wasn't shooting as much as he once was and was being more cautious in his shot decisions.
Brandon Jennings (Tore: January 2015; Age: 26)
This is something I think about what could had been if he didn't get hurt. Jennings took the league by storm in Milwaukee and it seemed as he had a bright future there, but they didn't re-sign him and he signed and traded to Detroit where he took a little bit of a dip on a young, up and coming Pistons team that seemed to be a few years away with a young Monroe and Drummond playing with Jennings and Josh Smith. Halfway through his second season, he tore his Achilles and after his return he went from 15 PPG to just 7 PPG with a blink of an eye. He was all about speed and busts and with the injury, it was taken away from him.
Kobe Bryant (Tore: March 2013; Age: 34)
We all know Kobe, my favorite player of all time. I don't have to go much into this because we all know the story that he was once a top player in the league and had an unmatched integrity to him that you can claim cause him to over work himself and he eventually tore his Achilles. Once he came back, he was just a stationary shooter moving from SG to SF just so he can stay on the wing and let the young guys do all the moving and get him open for a shot.
Dominique Wilkins (Tore: January 1992; Age: 32)
Before Durant, Wilkins has always been called the exception. Before he got hurt, he was averaging 28 points. The next year, 30. He earned two more All Star berths, a second team, and a third team after the injury and didn't seem to be stopping, though he was dealing with other injuries off and on which later caused to his decline. So with the stats making it look as if Durant was the only one post Achilles to improve or maintain success, it is not telling a full story.
Kevin Durant (Tore: June 2019; Age: 30)
A perfect example of an Achilles not affecting his game, though I feel like his game is different than anyone else's game. Look at everyone I mentioned not named Kobe and tell me what they all have in common. All of them are either strong, physical big men or shifty guards. KD is neither. He is a tall, lengthy 6'8 forward who is able to get inside the 3 point line for a mid range shot and find his shot instead having to make his shot or drive into the basket.
My Opinions On Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jayson Tatum
I have briefly talked about the players before them and explained what they did before and after, but now I will give you my thoughts on where I see all three in the next year, two years, or five years.
Damian Lillard (Tore: April 2025; Age: 34)
I feel like this a simple answer and it is obvious that both Dame and the Trail Blazers and even the Bucks are aware that he will not return to Dame Dolla form ever again. Even if the surgery is a success and the repaired Achilles doesn't affect him, how much longer does he have anyways? He is 35 now and will likely return to play at the age of 36 and the Trail Blazers already have two PG's in Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday getting valuable minutes. It is quite obvious that he will be in some kind of vet leader role and will come off the bench for the rest of his career.
Jayson Tatum (Tore: May 2025; Age: 27)
I feel like this can be a controversial take as I have kinda made my thoughts known and also helped fuel my post. I am going to start off by saying that looking back at other players who have previously went through the same exact thing as Tatum makes me believe that he will highly unlikely return to JT form and though he won't be like Klay or Kobe where he just stands there until he gets the ball in his hands, I feel like he is going to want to be able to do extra stuff that the Celtics relied on him in 2024 and 2022 to make the Finals off of and it will be obvious that he is not the same guy he once was and will hurt the team, and eventually his ego where they are forced to choose between him and Jaylen Brown and will most likely choose Jaylen Brown (unless something happens to him or his integrity) and he will likely get passed around for a while via trades or free agency (getting cut before the contract ended) and will be forced to play a backseat role. This will be a true test if he would be able to swallow his pride and take a vet minimum deal or be like Boogie and feel disrespected being offered a small salary when we all know full well that he is not what he once was.
Tyrese Haliburton (Tore: June 2025; Age: 25)
Though, I don't expect him to be the same guy that lead the Pacers to the Finals in a cinderella story fashion, I still think he has a brighter future in the league than the three. I expect Hali to become more of a floor general than ever. I think his scoring has to come strictly from the 3 point line as I think he will become limited in his driving capabilities. I also think, like Tatum, that he has to take more of a backseat role which I believe he is capable of. But, here is the kicker, this means the Pacers are basically getting a 45 million dollar TJ McConnell, which they already have, and they also have Andrew Nembhard who has filled the PG role to the best of his abilities. Next season will likely see one of the three being shopped around and eventually traded, it is going to likely be the guy the Pacers think they can get more value off of because they will look more into being in rebuild mode and find their next Hali or PG or Oladipo (if you want to count him as a former Pacers superstar) or a Reggie Miller. Haliburton may not be on the Pacers in five years, but I do think he can find a role on some team by then.
Review
Overall, an Achilles injury is tough to come back from. I think the best description for the Achilles for NBA players is like the ACL for tennis players. Once a tennis player loses the mobility in their leg, they become too stiff and hard to move and twist the legs and hips taking away a key part of their game. The Achilles is the same way and it is obvious there is always an exception, but I do not believe these three will be the exception. Let me know your thoughts and let me know what you disagree with me on.