Nearly 10 months after he underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, Jayson Tatum is ready to rejoin the Celtics' rotation.
On Thursday afternoon, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Tatum will play during the 2025-26 season, and he is expected to return on Friday night when Boston faces Dallas at the TD Garden. While there were concerns about Tatum returning too soon after a significant injury, he has been upgraded from out to questionable on the team's official injury report and is "ready to go," per Charania.
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This doesn't mean the Celtics will be instantly adding an All-NBA First Team superstar, of course. Tatum will have to build up his conditioning, and there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road as he attempts to reclaim his status as one of the league's top two-way forces.
However, Tatum and the Celtics are confident in their process. Tatum put himself on this timeline by having surgery immediately after suffering the injury. He has been traveling to road games and attending practices throughout the season. In the last month, he has participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages.
If Tatum has checked all of the medical boxes and wants to play, then let him wear the No. 0 jersey — because he could push the Celtics back to the top of the Eastern Conference hierarchy.
Boston still has 20 games remaining on its regular season schedule, giving Tatum more than a month to get back into shape and mesh with this group. Head coach Joe Mazzulla won't have a long runway before the playoffs, but he can experiment with different lineups and slide role players back into more natural spots.
Most importantly, Tatum will raise the overall ceiling. Yes, the Celtics are currently the No. 2 seed in the East, but in a postseason setting, they need Tatum on both ends of the floor. He can bring positional versatility on defense and take some of the offensive weight off Jaylen Brown's shoulders.
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And when you break down the rest of the conference, Boston shouldn't fear any potential playoff opponents.
The Pistons have been terrific, but they lack postseason experience and rely heavily on Cade Cunningham as a scorer and playmaker. The Cavaliers and Knicks were the top East contenders heading into the 2025-26 campaign after Tatum went down, but they haven't separated themselves from the rest of the pack.
Tatum won't be the same guy who averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in 2024-25, but even a lesser version of Tatum increases the Celtics' odds of escaping the East playoff bracket.
What exactly will that version of Tatum look like with this team? We're about to find out.
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