This season has provided the Boston Celtics with a reality they haven't had to live in since the 2016-17 season: life without Jayson Tatum. The six-time All-Star suffered from a torn Achilles in the 2025 Eastern Conference semi-finals, which had the expected effect of ruling him out for the 2025-26 season entirely.
Boston has adapted well to life without its franchise star, as Jaylen Brown has picked up the reins, averaging 29.8 points per game and playing a key role in his side's 28-17 record.
While Tatum has remained out for the season thus far, he's been spotted at the Celtics' practice facility over the last few weeks, showing some of the progress he’s made in his rehab.
This display caught the eye of NBA great Charles Barkley, who, on Inside the NBA, said he doesn't have a good feeling about the potential return of Tatum.
"I got a bad feeling Jayson Tatum is coming back," Barkley stated. "Normally, when guys have an Achilles [injury], they're out for a year. What I saw him doing last week, I was like ‘he's going to come back this year'."
This isn't to say the former MVP isn't glad to see Tatum doing well in his recovery journey, more so being worried due to the typical lengthier process for return to action in Achilles injuries of years past than what it appears could be happening with the Celtics' star.
"It's a great thing, but I don't think we've ever had a player come back from an Achilles [injury], I'm like ‘yo man, this dude out here dunking and everything'," Barkley explained. "Dude, he's got another four or five months to go."
Could Tatum return this season?
Given that the Celtics have never ruled out Tatum's return to the court happening this season, it remains a realistic possibility. Even if Tatum is to be out for another four to five months, with where the Celtics are currently sitting in the Eastern Conference, playoff action at TD Garden is a realistic possibility, meaning that the 27-year-old will be given even more opportunities to come back.
However, if Tatum is to remain true to what he said at Boston's media day at the beginning of the season, he won't be making any appearance on the court until he is "100 percent ready".
Newsweek