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Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics
Give credit to the Boston Celtics. As much as star forward Jayson Tatum has loomed in the background of the team since he suffered a torn Achilles tendon near the end of Game 5 in last May’s Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Knicks, the team has not let his absence dominate the way the team has approached this year’s schedule.
The Celtics, surely, underwent a round of cost-cutting trades that included dealing away point guard Jrue Holiday and center Kristaps Porzingis, who had both been members of the team’s 2024 NBA title bunch. They also had to cut loose center Luke Kornet, another beloved member of the championship team.
But the fact is, those moves were dictated by harsh new luxury-tax rules that would have gone forward even if Tatum had been healthy. Rather than trudge their way through the 2025-26 season, though, the Celtics have come back younger and leaner–and certainly hungrier. And they could be ready to welcome Tatum back to the mix in much shorter order than expected.
Jayson Tatum Worked Out in Front of Celtics Reporters
On Monday, Tatum worked out in a high-school gym outside of Detroit and showed off–in the presence of media members–a variety of drives, dunks and spin moves that would belie the notion that this was a player who had suffered a devastating injury just eight months ago.
Boston Globe reporter Adam Himmelsbach wrote that Tatum, “offered a rare glimpse into his recovery from the Achilles injury he suffered last May when he conducted a one-hour, on-court session in front of reporters at the Celtics’ shootaround practice at Seaholm High School.
“Flanked by four assistant coaches and his longtime athletic trainer, Nick Sang, Tatum completed a variety of drills that showcased his passing, shooting, and dribbling. He even tossed in a few dunks.”
Derrick White: Jayson Tatum Rehab ‘Amazing to See’
He then quoted point guard Derrick White, who said, “It’s been amazing to see. Obviously all the work he’s put in, and you just kind of see him being around more and being able to do more, so that’s exciting to see, as a friend. Every day he’s been working hard, and it’s good to see that hard work add to more movement and more opportunity.”
While a workout in front of reporters is promising for the Celtics and their fans, there are actual medical tests and thresholds that Tatum will need to meet before he can get back on the floor for the Celtics.
Ultimately, it will be the doctors and the tests who decide when Tatum returns. But he looks nearly ready, to the untrained eye.
GettyDerrick White #9 of the Boston Celtics
Celtics Are 26-16 This Season
Tatum will return to a Celtics team that has done well without him–Boston is 26-16, No. 2 in the Eastern Conference after a narrow loss to the No. 1 Pistons on Monday.
The Celtics have been pretty comfortably the second-best team in the East for the past month or more, thanks in large part to an MVP-level performance from Jaylen Brown (29.8 points, 48.7% shooting, 36.3% 3-point shooting), as well spikes in production from White and several previously underutilized role players, especially wing Jordan Walsh.
The hope is that Tatum cold return next month, or more likely in early March and get some time to adjust to the speed of the NBA game and reclaim a role within this version of the Celtics. If he can, this will be a dangerous bunch.