Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has played a lot of games against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics in his legendary NBA career, but Wednesday's was different.
Green got his first look up close at Tatum since he returned from his Achilles injury two weeks ago, and he came away deeply impressed.
"Still moving well, still getting downhill, handle's still there. He looks great," Green said after the Celtics' 120-99 victory at TD Garden. "He looks incredible. It's amazing to see him back out there on the floor. You're talking about a guy who loves basketball...I'm happy as hell to see him back out there."
Draymond Green speaks on Jayson Tatum's return from injury:
"He looks incredible. It's amazing to see him back out there."
-@CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/tvzM7CnhQK
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) March 19, 2026
Tatum looked like his old self against the Warriors, scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and splashing a season-high five 3-pointers.
Green added that he spoke to Tatum before, during and after the game, with both sides exchanging a little light, friendly trash talk.
"I told him before the game he wasn't gonna score on me," Green smiled.
While Green is one of the best defenders in basketball, there's no stopping Tatum when he gets hot. He matched his season high in points, so clearly Green wasn't able to slow him down too much.
Green's right about Tatum looking good, and Kristaps Porzingis agrees with him. In Tatum's first six games back, he's averaging 20.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 29.3 minutes per game, helping Boston go 5-1 during those contests.
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