Jayson Tatum contracted COVID-19 in January. Four months later, he says he's still breathing differently.
In a new interview on Adrian Wojnarowski's podcast, "The Woj Pod," the Celtics' All-Star opens up about how his bout with COVID-19 continues to impact him.
"I do feel so much better than the first game I came back and played from having it," Tatum said. "My breathing is much better than it was then. But it's hard to explain, it's hard to pinpoint, but I don't necessarily feel or breathe the same that I did before I had COVID. There is a difference in how my breathing is before I had the virus to now."
Tatum, 23, missed five games with COVID-19 from Jan. 15 — Jan. 24. Last month, he revealed he's still using an inhaler to open his lungs before games.
"I go out there and I still play and perform," Tatum said. "It's hard to explain, but I feel different. I just breathe a little different now than before I had the virus."
Despite these incredible challenges, Tatum is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 28 points per game since the All-Star Break. That's the most since Larry Bird in the 1987-88 season.
Tatum scored 61 points against the Spurs April 30, tying Bird for the single-game franchise record.
"It was frightening at first. It was also frustrating trying to come back and play, and just feeling restricted," Tatum said. "It's hard to play when you're out of breath or short-winded. and it was hard to play at an extremely high level like I know I can. That was the toughest part, just trying to figure out how long this was going to last, am I ever going to feel back to 100 percent?"
The Celtics are stumbling to the finish line, with five losses in their last six contests. They clinched their spot in the play-in game with their most recent shortcoming against the Cavaliers.
Though the Celtics lead the league in games missed due to COVID-19 and injuries, Tatum isn't making excuses. He knows it's been a tough season for everybody.
"This is really my first year dealing with this — kind of being the guy," he said. "Coming into this season, knowing it was going to be unique in a lot of different ways. We were infected, as well as other teams, with COVID and the injury bug. It's been a very unique year up and down."
The Celtics have a lot of problems. But after listening to this interview, it's apparent Tatum is a big part of the solution — if his play doesn't already speak for itself.
