[Krawczynski] DiVincenzo is trying to follow Tatum’s lead. He flew to New York for surgery less than 24 hours after suffering the injury, following a similar timeline that Tatum went through… Several within the Timberwolves organization believe DiVincenzo could return at some point next season.
And then, just like that, it was over. Not even 90 seconds into that pivotal game, DiVincenzo felt a bite at his ankle and calf when he took a negative step trying to chase down an offensive rebound. He knew what had happened, but he needed to ask one question to the athletic trainers and medical personnel gathering around him.
“Just tell me,” DiVincenzo said to David Hines and Erin Sierer, the Wolves’ two highest-ranking athletic trainers. “Was there somebody around me?”
When they told him there was no one near him, his biggest fears were confirmed. No one nicked him with their shoe while contesting his shot. No one made contact with him as he moved toward the loose ball. His Achilles tendon was ruptured. As Sierer and Hines each got under one of DiVincenzo’s arms and helped him off the court, the gravity of what happened, and the long road ahead, started to sink in.
“Once I got to the back of the tunnel, that’s when my emotions started going through my head,” DiVincenzo said. “And once I sat in the back, that’s when all the questions, the doubts, the not understanding why me and all that, that’s when that all hit.”
It is far too early in the recovery process to predict when DiVincenzo will return to action. Tearing an Achilles tendon is among the most serious injuries in the game, often keeping players out for a year or more. Boston’s Jayson Tatum returned in less than 10 months, but that is considered an outlier. Still, DiVincenzo is trying to follow Tatum’s lead. He flew to New York for surgery less than 24 hours after suffering the injury, following a similar timeline that Tatum went through. DiVincenzo has spoken to Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard, all of whom have recently suffered the same injury, about their recoveries.
“I just asked a million questions, and they’ve all helped me in different ways,” DiVincenzo said. “But all their journeys are different.”
Several within the Timberwolves organization believe DiVincenzo could return at some point next season. The question is how much can he be expected to give? Tatum played remarkably well after returning this season, but he suffered a couple of injuries to his calf and knee in the playoffs and missed Boston’s Game 7 loss to Philadelphia. Haliburton, who was injured in the NBA Finals last season, did not play this year for Indiana. Lillard did not play for Portland this season after tearing his Achilles in the first round of the 2025 playoffs with Milwaukee.