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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MARCH 06: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter at TD Garden on March 06, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics have had Jayson Tatum playing real games for them for the last couple of weeks. It was unclear whether or not Tatum was going to play at all this year after tearing his Achilles tendon last year in the playoffs. Now, he’s back.
Tatum worked extremely hard to return to the active roster this year. He joins the team as Boston sits second in the Eastern Conference standings. Not only that, but they have the second-best offense in the league. Most of that has been without Tatum on the floor.
Tatum was documenting his entire journey back to the court. Recently, the team released some unseen footage of his recovery to the public on social media.
The Celtics Release New Footage of Jayson Tatum’s Recovery
On social media, the Celtics released some new footage of Tatum’s first five-on-five scrimmage that he participated in. The first time Tatum did that was with the G-League team, the Maine Red Claws. Tatum looked like he was the same player he was before the injury.
Daniel Donabedian
An inside look at Jayson Tatum’s first 5-on-5 scrimmage with the Maine Celtics, which we haven’t really seen much of before.
You can watch Tatum hit fadeaways, feed Hugo Gonzalez, and thank the G Leaguers for coming down:
“You see the joy in him,” Nick Sang said.
Assistant coach Tony Dobbins was very impressed with what he saw from Tatum in that first scrimmage.
“He looks like he’s progressing along. Obviously, he needs to take his time before he makes any decisions. But in terms of what I’ve seen, he looks pretty damn good.”
That was the final big hurdle that Tatum needed to get over before fully practicing with the Celtics. He needed to know that he was mentally over the thought of getting injured again before he was able to really get deeply involved with playing again in the NBA.
Tatum can be seen making turn-around jump shots, driving to the hoop, and dribbling the ball well. Quite frankly, he looked like the Tatum that is playing for the team right now. It doesn’t look like he has lost a step at all on the offensive end of the court.
Jayson Tatum is Playing Normal Minutes as he Continues his Comeback
Despite coming off a major injury, Tatum is playing a normal load of minutes. In the games that he has played, he has played at least 27 minutes in every game. They are playing him starter-level minutes now that he is back, which proves they believe he is 100 percent healthy.
Without Tatum for most of the season, Jaylen Brown has had the best season of his career. He has proven that he is a number-one option, and this is his team. Brown is almost certainly going to be a first-team All-NBA selection at the end of the year.
With both Brown and Tatum healthy, Boston has a real shot to win an NBA championship. This is the perfect time for Tatum to return to the team, as it’s right before the playoffs. This allow him to develop chemistry with the new members of the starting lineup before the games really start to matter.
The Celtics have the fifth-best defense in the league, as well. Tatum’s length will only help that part of the team, as well.