Mar 14, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) during the second half at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Mar 14, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) during the second half at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Getting shoved by Wembanyama after the play was part of the fun for Tatum.
“Getting knocked on your ass and falling is part of being in the NBA,” Tatum said. “When he pushed me, it knocked me off balance. But I laid there for a second and I was like, ‘All right, now I’m fine.’ It’s just moments like that where it’s been a while since something like that has happened. So it is a good feeling of, like, ‘all right, I’m back.’”
Tatum has had a lot of help along the way to get to this point. He has specifically given credit to his trainer and physical therapist, Nick Sang, for pushing him through the most difficult parts of his rehab. And after the win over Washington, Tatum also gave credit to Celtics assistant coach Tony Dobbins, who worked with Tatum throughout the process.
“He’s been in the trenches with me every single day, essentially, since I was able to start 15-minute workouts on the court,” Tatum said. “We have a great relationship since I've been here with the Celtics, but this is our first year really being hands on and working with each other. So I can’t thank him enough for his selflessness and just really being engaged with me every single day. Even when we didn’t know if I was coming back this year, he still approached every single day as if I was a super important part of this team. So that was really helpful for me.”
Tatum’s return is progressing faster than most people expected, but it’s still a work in progress. This step against Washington is an amazing step, but it’s still one step of many.
“I obviously understand the bigger picture and the plan,” Tatum said. “Sticking with the plan in the moment is kind of tough, obviously I want to be out there as much as possible. But today I got to play more than the first three games, so I’ll take that.”
Mar 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) gives a hug to head coach Joe Mazzulla as he comes out of the game during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Mar 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) gives a hug to head coach Joe Mazzulla as he comes out of the game during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images