If a player is seriously injured, his team can apply for the disabled-player exception to replace him. An NBA-designed physician would have to determine that the player is “substantially more like than not” to be out through June 15 next season for it to be granted.

Tatum dropped to the floor, slapped the hardwood and pleaded for his team to call a timeout after Knicks forward OG Anunoby converted a fastbreak dunk. Tatum grimaced in pain for a few more seconds before trainers attended to him on the floor.

Jayson Tatum's torn Achilles tendon, without hyperbole, is among the most consequential injuries in NBA history. Kevin Durant comes to mind as a similarly gifted player to suffer such an injury, but he was almost 31 when he went down in the 2019 NBA Finals.