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During NBC’s broadcast of the Spurs vs 76ers on Tuesday March 3rd, they ran Episode 4 of Jayson Tatum’s Documentary ‘The Quiet Place.’ For as much speculation that has gone on about his return, the documentary dropping this quickly feels like a good sign that Tatum is coming back sooner rather than later.
At the end of episode 3, in day 43 post surgery, Tatum had just gotten the ok from Dr. O’Malley to start more strenuous activity. Episode 4 tackles his return to strengthen not only his body, but his mental well being in life.
This episode starts out with trainer Nick Sang talking about the timeline of events for his recovery. He said the first four weeks were just to monitor the injury to make sure it healed correctly and there was no infection. We cut to Day 45 where Sang goes on to talk about the next six weeks was focusing on getting Tatum back to a standing position. We then get video of Tatum trying to stand on a board up against a wall where he said he took the ability to walk and stand up everyday for granted.
Tatum then talks about the people who he has inspired around the world who were counting on him to fight through his injury and that was fueling him to continue to get better. We then see Tatum getting off an airplane and driving through his hometown of St. Louis on Day 76 post surgery. He talks about how surreal the feeling still is about coming from St. Louis and making it to the NBA as he drives around his old neighborhood.
Tatum then walks into his old school gym where he was holding his basketball camp sponsored by his Jayson Tatum foundation where he gets mobbed by kids. He talks to the kids openly saying, “I want you guys to be better than me. I want you to accomplish more. I want you to inspire more kids than I have.”
His mother Brandy Cole then sits down and talks about how this injury revealed to Jayson himself how strong he really is. We see Tatum getting stretched out on Day 82 post surgery with Dr. Martin O’Malley saying, “What separates the athletes from the people who recover fully and go back and perform at the same level is the work they put in and the seriousness which they approach their rehab.”
We then see Tatum continue to work in the Celtics training facility on his rehab from using an exercise bike to deadlifting all on his injured foot. Dr O’Malley said Tatum wasn’t given opioids for the pain but a new drug that didn’t have the same effects per Jayson’s request.
On Day 133 we see Jayson Tatum back on the basketball court for the first time. On Day 154, we see him doing more basketball drills with Tatum talking about how he feels ready to do more. He said, “I feel like I can run before they want me to run. I feel like I can get on the court before they want me to…it feels like you’re stuck at a standstill and that’s a weird feeling.”
The final shot we get is Tatum at the door, looking at the team practice where he says, “I can see a day where I’ll be able to play again” before it fades to black.
