Home » The Brotherhood Of The Torn Achilles: Haliburton, Tatum, Lillard Find Support In Kevin Durant’s Hard-Earned Wisdom

The Brotherhood Of The Torn Achilles: Haliburton, Tatum, Lillard Find Support In Kevin Durant’s Hard-Earned Wisdom

by Len Werle
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In basketball, injuries are inevitable; but some leave deeper scars than others. For Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, and Damian Lillard, the 2025 NBA playoffs delivered a cruel twist of fate, with each suffering a torn Achilles tendon, sidelining them for the upcoming season and thrusting them into what Haliburton now calls the “Achilles community.”

It’s a club no athlete wants to join, but one that’s quietly growing, and finding strength in shared experience.

During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Haliburton revealed that Kevin Durant, the original “Achilles guy,” as he jokingly calls himself, paid him a personal visit during WNBA All-Star Weekend.

“K.D. actually came to visit me the other day, came to my house,” Haliburton said. “It was pretty cool. We sat down for a while”.

Durant, who tore his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals and missed the entire following season, has become an unofficial mentor to players navigating the same grueling recovery. He offered Haliburton perspective, encouragement, and a roadmap for what lies ahead.

“He’s tired of being the Achilles guy,” Haliburton said with a laugh. “But for me, it’s about getting my mental right. I’m going to fight like hell to get back. All I can do is attack that rehab the best I can”.

The term “Achilles community” may sound tongue-in-cheek, but it reflects a real emotional bond. Durant has also been in contact with Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard, both of whom reached out to him shortly after their injuries. On the Mind the Game podcast, Durant acknowledged the weight of being the go-to voice for Achilles recovery:

“I feel like I’m the Achilles guy,” he said. “You can elevate or drown. I think both of those dudes have shown you time and time again that they’re going to continue to elevate”.

Durant’s advice is rooted in experience. He knows the physical toll, how the calf atrophies, how the explosiveness fades, how the game must evolve. But more importantly, he understands the mental battle.

“This is probably the first time in their whole lives they gotta sit down and not play,” he said. “They physically can’t play. That’s probably the first time they’ve had to go through that”.

Haliburton, just 25, suffered his injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Thunder. Tatum, 27, went down in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Lillard, now 35, tore his Achilles in the first round and was subsequently waived by the Bucks. All three are facing long roads back, but their ages and career stages vary, making Durant’s guidance all the more valuable.

What’s emerging isn’t just a support group, it’s a quiet fraternity of elite athletes who’ve faced one of the most feared injuries in sports and are determined to return stronger. 

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