On April 27, Milwaukee guard Damian Lillard suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in a Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Lillard’s injury was the fifth NBA player on a standard contract to sustain the injury since rookie DaRon Holmes II went down in Summer League on July 12, 2024. Unfortunately, another name was added to the list as Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum tore his right Achilles late in Monday’s Game 4 loss to the Knicks. The six Achilles tendon tears suffered this season marks a new high for the devastating injury, passing the previous record of five set during the 2014-2015 season. Even worse, this lofty total doesn’t include the torn Achilles of Miami two-way guard Dru Smith or unrestricted free agent Thanasis Antetokounmpo who was injured in the offseason.