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Because Tatum excelled to the point of becoming an All-NBA player, his admiration for and idolization of Bryant’s basketball ability took on a different dimension. Tatum got to know Bryant, worked out with Bryant during the summer of 2018, and he has talked many times over the years about the connection.

Whether in the or when doing a television appearance on or an interview with , Tatum has continued to cherish that connection even after Bryant’s death.

The season-ending and career-altering ruptured right Achilles tendon Tatum suffered in May shook the Boston Celtics and the entire NBA.

The recovery will be painstaking and “tedious,� as we , but it also offers the St. Louis native a chance to surpass his childhood idol in a certain respect.

“Rehab is — it’s tedious, man, it’s six days a week,� Tatum said in a video posted on NBA social media platforms, his first public comments since his injury and surgery. “It’s starting to get a little bit better. I’m out of the boot now. Better days ahead, but just trying to take it one day at a time.�

Tatum’s injury came in the middle of the Celtics playoff series against the New York Knicks, one season after Tatum helped lead the Celtics to the 2023-24 NBA championship.

A six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season. He finished fourth in the NBA MVP voting, his fourth consecutive season among the top six vote getters.

“You got to be resilient,� Tatum continued in the video as images of him rehabbing in a swimming pool doing exercises with a protective boot on his foot. “That first six weeks of this was probably the toughest six weeks of any point in my life. Just had to accept it and realize it happened, and now I’ve got to do everything in my power to get back to who I was and get back to playing.�

Bryant ruptured his Achilles in April 2013 at age 34 (his birthday was this Saturday, and he would’ve turned 47). He famously remained in the game and shot his free throws with his Achilles shredded.

Despite his age and the critical injury, Bryant returned to play in the NBA after surgery, recovery and rehab.

While rehabbing, Bryant spoke to ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Illustrated and openly discussed the idea that he might not have as much explosion, that he might be slower and the injury could rob him of his quickness. He then followed up with a comparison to the boxer Floyd Mayweather and his ability to “fight myriad styles and myriad tempos.â€�

Bryant finished off a legendary Hall of Fame career on his own terms. He played 35 games in the 2014-15 season and 66 games in 2015-16. He left the NBA with the memorable finale where he scored 60 points on 22 of 50 shooting (16 of 29 on 2-point attempts).

Of course, coming back from that injury at age 35 isn’t the same as coming back at 28 (the age Tatum turns in March). The injury came near the end of a 20-year career for Bryant.

Bryant awed fans with his final chapter, but he wasn’t the same player he’d been before the injury. Bryant got back to playing, but he didn’t get back to who he was — borrowing from Tatum’s phrasing about his own goals.

No matter what happens, Tatum’s career now has a dividing line. There will be before the Achilles and after the Achilles.

As we sit here now, Tatum remains in the midst of rehab from the injury. That process is no small task, and there’s a bevy of uncertainty that comes with that injury and recovery.

However, Tatum will play again. Tatum could have as many seasons after the injury than before it, if not more. Bryant didn’t have that opportunity. Even Kevin Durant had reached age 30 when he sustained his Achilles injury.

Damian Lillard is also working toward a comeback from an Achilles injury, but he’s 35. Tyrese Haliburton will have age on his side as he rehabs his Achilles injury at age 25, but Haliburton hadn’t climbed to the same heights Tatum reached prior to the injury.

The circumstances of Tatum’s injury position him uniquely. He’d already had his signature moments against the likes of LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Tatum reached an elite level individually, and his team won at the highest level.

And now, suddenly Tatum has reached that point of the that goes “watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build ’em with worn-out tools.�

Not that he asked for this or even wanted it, but Tatum finds himself forced to start again. Because of that, Tatum can do the thing Bryant talked about.

Tatum can come back and perhaps be a different version of himself. Maybe he enters that Mayweather phase of his career, leaning on fundamentals and being able to deliver blows from so many angles.

If he does, Tatum has the chance to write a much longer final chapter than Bryant. Tatum has the chance to chart a new path back up the mountain. He can surpass his idol in that respect, and, maybe, he can become an even bigger inspiration for others than Bryant once was for him.

Halfway through his career, Tatum endured the toughest six-week period of his life. And now the rest of his story begins.