When the Celtics announced Jayson Tatum had undergone season-ending Achilles surgery, they did not share a projected timeline for his return.
Six weeks later, they still were not ready to do so.
Though president of basketball operations Brad Stevens offered positive updates on Tatum and Celtics co-star Jaylen Brown during his draft-night news conference, he declined to say when the team expects to have the former back on the court.
“We don’t, and we won’t. We won’t put a projected timeline on him for a long, long time,” Stevens said after Boston selected Spanish wing Hugo Gonzalez with the 28th overall pick Wednesday night. “As we look at it, there’s no reason to. It’s baby steps right now. He’s actually progressed great, but I don’t know what that means with regard to projected timelines. And that’ll be in consultation with him and (Celtics staffers) Nick (Sang) and Phil Coles and everybody else to make sure he is — when he hits the court — he is fully ready and fully healthy. And that will be the priority.”
Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon during Game 4 of the Celtics’ second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks. He underwent surgery the following morning in New York City — by the same surgeon who repaired Kevin Durant’s Achilles in 2019 — and is set to miss at least a significant portion of the 2025-26 season.
Tatum’s father, Justin, reportedly told ESPN’s Marc Spears shortly after the injury that his son could return in eight to nine months, but it’s unclear whether the Celtics share that outlook. Achilles injuries often sideline players for 12 months or more. Though Tatum’s age, previously clean injury history and speedy surgery could accelerate his rehab, Stevens made clear that Boston will not rush its 27-year-old superstar back.
“We have to prioritize JT’s health and make sure that he comes back fully strong,” Stevens said, later adding: “The biggest challenge for our team is our first-team All-NBA player is in a boot.”
Brown faces a much shorter recovery period after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this month. The Celtics’ longest-tenured player, who played through pain for the final three months of the season, already has resumed light on-court work and is expected to be fully cleared well before training camp begins in September.
Both players have been frequent visitors to the Celtics’ Auerbach Center practice facility this offseason, according to Stevens.
“Jayson has been here pretty much every day,” Stevens said. “Jaylen traveled a little bit before he got the surgery and has been back most of the time after, and he’s doing great. His rehab looks good. He was actually on the court the other day doing some ball-handling and light work around the rim. Nothing big movement-wise yet, but I think his timeline — again, we said (he’d) be ready for training camp, and I think he’ll probably be going full well ahead of that. So we’ll see.
“We’ve seen both those guys very frequently. Jaylen’s been here working with Drew Moore on all his rehab, and Jayson with Nick. It’s usually the time of year I don’t see those guys a lot. They usually rest and get away. But they both prioritize getting better and rehabbing and after a long season. I appreciate that about them.”