Jayson Tatum again was recognized as a top-five player in the NBA on Friday.
The Celtics star was voted to his fourth consecutive All-NBA first team, joining Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.
His four first-team All-NBA nods as a Celtic are tied with John Havlicek and Bill Sharman for third-most in franchise history. Only Bob Cousy (10) and Larry Bird (nine) have more.
Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and a career-high 6.0 assists per game – one of just four players to lead his team in all three categories. He was the league’s fifth-leading scorer, made his sixth straight All-Star team and finished fourth in NBA MVP voting – tied for the highest mark of his career – behind Antetokounmpo, Jokic and winner Gilgeous-Alexander.
The 27-year-old also led Boston in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals during the playoffs before suffering a season-ending ruptured Achilles in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. The injury – which occurred during a 42-point outing that was one of the best of Tatum’s postseason career – is expected to sideline him into 2026, though his exact timeline for return is unclear.
Tatum could miss all of next season, but the speed with which he underwent surgery, coupled with his age and clean injury history, has the team optimistic about his recovery. Tatum’s father told ESPN’s Marc Spears he expects his son to be out “eight to nine months,” which would mean a return to action in January or February.
“As has been well documented, he loves to play, and I think even missing two games has been grueling for him,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in his end-of-season news conference. “So we know that there is a long road ahead and that there’s going to be several steps that he’ll have to take before he ultimately gets back out on the court, but the positive was we were 15 minutes away from Dr. (Martin) O’Malley, who is a terrific surgeon, who has done a number of these. (Celtics team physician) Dr. (Anthony) Schena was on the phone with him before we left the building on Monday night, and he was out of the MRI and consultation and done with surgery by the time we had an injury report the next day, because there was real benefit to doing it early.
“So as tough as that injury is and as tough as that was that night, just an amazing set of circumstances. … I thought it was about as good of a transition in about as bleak of a feeling as you could have.”
Since he entered the NBA as the third overall draft pick in 2017, no player has appeared in more games or logged more minutes than Tatum, playoffs included. Only Antetokounmpo, a two-time league MVP, has scored more points during that span. Tatum has never missed more than 10 games in a season, and though he’s dealt with several relatively minor injuries over his career – including a bone bruise in his wrist that sidelined him for one game earlier this postseason – this will be his first long-term absence.
How the Celtics retool their roster without their best player will be the top storyline of their offseason. Boston already was likely to offload key pieces from its 2024 championship squad to avoid a fresh wave of overwhelming luxury tax penalties, which come in the form of both financial sanctions and restrictions on the types of trades and signings it can make. Losing Tatum, whose record-setting five-year, $314 million extension kicks in next season, could prompt an even more sweeping overhaul, though Stevens did not tip his hand in his most recent public comments.
It remains unclear whether the Celtics will attempt to construct the most competitive roster possible without Tatum or treat 2025-26 as a reset year of sorts, prioritizing tax relief with the hope of returning to contention with a healthy Tatum the following season. While players like Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Sam Hauser are potential trade candidates in either scenario, the latter could include moving higher-value pieces like Derrick White or even Tatum’s longtime co-star, Jaylen Brown.
New York’s Jalen Brunson, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and the Lakers’ LeBron James made second-team All-NBA. The third team consisted of Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams and the Clippers’ James Harden.
No other Celtics players received All-NBA votes. Brown did not reach the 65-game minimum to qualify.
Originally Published: May 23, 2025 at 7:14 PM EDT