Jayson Tatum has been open for his entire basketball career about the way he idolizes the late, great Kobe Bryant. And now, after the worst news of Tatum's career, that admiration comes into focus more than ever.

Jayson Tatum underwent successful surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon, the Celtics announced on Tuesday.

An Achilles tear typically comes with a recovery timeline of eight to 12 months, so he should be expected to miss much of next season in addition to the current postseason.

Tatum is not only ahead of James, but he has also surpassed Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. The late NBA legend scored 2,889 points by the time he was at Tatum's age. Tatum narrowly surpassed him before his Game 2 performance wrapped up. The two were tied until Tatum hit his last three of the game.

Boston, who won game three on Saturday, started strongly with Tatum and Payton Pritchard leading the charge.

Jayson Tatum, who had exploded for 42 points and kept Boston within reach throughout the night, went down late in the fourth quarter with a non-contact leg injury that silenced the arena.