The Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers were supposed to have a similar 2025-26 season.
The Celtics lost All-NBA and All-Star forward Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last May, and the Pacers lost All-NBA and All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton to a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June. The expectation was that the Celtics and Pacers would be basement dwellers this season, then return to form with fully healthy stars in 2026-27.
The 15-47 Pacers have followed that script, while the 41-21 Celtics have not.
Boston has been buoyed by remarkable depth, which has led to the league’s best scoring defense, and MVP-level play from All-Star guard/forward Jaylen Brown. Once it became clear that Tatum would likely return this season, there was chatter that Tatum could disrupt the Celtics’ chemistry and steal Brown’s thunder.
Before Tatum’s 2025-26 debut against Dallas on Friday night, Brown expressed how he felt about welcoming back Tatum.
“First, I want to commend JT for even taking that notion and being like, ‘I want to come back,'” Brown said on Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady. “Him even wanting to come back is an unselfish act - putting, potentially, his body on the line in order for us to accomplish something great.”
“We both are on the same page,” Brown continued. “We had a good talk today about what we want. We talked about just the mindset that we both want to come back and add to winning.”
Brown also acknowledged the Celtics have a “younger group” this season, “so it’s a different dynamic,” but he trusts that he and Tatum can lead them in the right direction together. “They’re going to feed off of the energy that we create,” he said. “I think we have a great understanding of what it means to win. We’ve won for a long time. We know how to find success. We're on the same page.”
Entering Friday night’s action, the Celtics held the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Brown is averaging a career-high 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and five assists in 55 starts this season.
Boston selected Brown at No. 3 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, then drafted Tatum at No. 3 overall the following year. Since 2016, the Celtics have made it to four Eastern Conference Finals and two NBA Finals, winning it all in 2024. Brown was named NBA Finals MVP. Now, the longtime running mates have a new challenge.
“I might be emotional, but I’ll be excited,” Tatum told People about his remarkable return. “I’ll be anxious, and I’ll just be proud of myself that I made it to that point. There’s been some long days over the last 42 weeks.”
Tatum added, “Everybody has their own opinion, which is fair. But you just got to understand, I’m the one that’s going through this. I’ve talked to doctors, specialists, people that are way smarter than me. Those are the people that I lean on, and I know how I feel.”
Tatum should feel like he and Brown have a legitimate shot at leading the Celtics to another championship this summer.
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