No one can sympathize with the plight of a professional athlete more than another professional athlete. That's why when one of the biggest stars in the sports world is injured, their peers from across the sports landscape are quick to offer their support. That's what former Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II did Monday night after seeing Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum suffer an apparent lower-leg injury.
In game four of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Tatum left the game late in the fourth quarter when he went down in a heap after trying to dive for a loose ball. He was seen grabbing the back of his ankle, leaving many to fear that he suffered an Achilles Tendon injury.
Though his Celtics were on the way to a 121-113 loss to the New York Knicks to fall into a 3-1 hole in the best-of-seven series, Tatum was in the midst of a monster performance. He had scored 42 points in 40 minutes of action as he tried to help the defending NBA Champions draw even in the series.
Jayson Tatum was helped off the court late in Game 4 after an apparent leg injury on this play. pic.twitter.com/UF8D4mxqlo
— ESPN (@espn) May 13, 2025
After the game, Tatum was seen being wheeled into the Boston locker room in a wheelchair. That led many to assume the worst about his injury.
In the immediate aftermath, Mahomes was one of many to take to social media to voice his support. Posting emojis of praying hands, he wrote "Prayers up man...".
Prayers up man….. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) May 13, 2025
"I talked to the medical staff, they told me it's a lower body injury and he'll get an MRI [Tuesday]," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters. "We'll see where it goes from there.
"We're obviously always concerned about someone's health, so it's twofold. We're concerned about his health, and we're concerned about what we have to do better for Game 5 when we get back to Boston," Mazzulla said. "The fact that he had to be carried off -- he's the type of guy, he gets right up. He didn't. It's tough to watch a guy like him get carried off like that."
Fortunately, Mahomes has yet to have to overcome a catastrophic injury in his career. In fact, since his college career, he's been one of the most durable quarterbacks in the sport.
Still, it likely isn't tough for him to imagine how devastating such a situation would be for any high-level professional athlete. That's why he instantly had sympathy for Tatum when it appeared that the Celtics' top player might have been dealt a huge blow on one of the biggest stages in the sport.