Exhale.
With 3:35 left in the third quarter in Sacramento, Jayson Tatum rose up and hit a three-pointer over Domantas Sabonis. Unfortunately, Sabonis was in his landing space and Tatum rolled his left ankle on Sabonis’ foot and crumpled to the floor.
After a review, it was deemed a Flagrant 1. Tatum limped to the line, hit one of two free throws, and went to the locker room with help from the assistant coaches.
In the fourth quarter, the team announced that he was “doubtful to return,” but all things considered, it was good news that he wasn’t ruled out completely.
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Sabonis, who had just returned from a month absence from his own ankle sprain, apologized to Tatum on the floor and said afterward, “I feel horrible. I’ve had a crazy month myself, personally, and you never want that to happen. So, I apologize.”
Joe Mazzulla says Jayson Tatum seems to be doing OK after spraining his left ankle. He later added, “I know he’ll do anything and everything to make sure he gets better.” pic.twitter.com/cxIuMVkC3w
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) March 25, 2025
“He seems to be doing OK. He’s just icing it right now,” Mazzulla said after the 113-95 win over the Kings. “I didn’t see the play. They made the right call. It was a flagrant foul. It was fortunate that he was able to shoot the free throw — just taking care of it right now.”
According to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Tatum was in the locker room in sneakers (with no boot or crutches) joking with his teammates after leading all scorers with 25 points despite not playing in the final frame. That’s a good sign that the injury is nothing serious, but it could still swell up overnight. Don’t be surprised if he’s not in uniform on Wednesday, giving him five full days of rest before facing the Spurs on Saturday in San Antonio.
