Celtics past and present share Jayson Tatum insight as potential return gets closer

Jayson Tatum-Watch is in full effect. It heightens with each passing home game to open the month of March. He'll need time to ramp up. The Boston Celtics, nor their star forward, will rush his return and send him out to the parquet in uniform before he's game-ready.

As the four-time All-NBA First Team selection relentlessly attacks his rehab and has reached the point where he's playing five-on-five with his teammates, the feedback on how he looks while doing so is encouraging.

"He looks good, playing, moving, it's been good to see him back and getting up and down," said Derrick White after Boston's forgettable performance in a 118-89 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. "So, you kind of see all the work he's put in to get to this point. And it's been great to see him be able to do what he loves to do."

Xavier Tillman Sr. was there to witness the tireless and consistent work that went into Tatum's road to recovery before a trade-deadline deal reunited him with Charles Lee in the "Queen City."

"It was pretty constant, he was here like six days a week, getting it in and always doing something to better his body," conveyed Tillman before Charlotte gifted him a decisive victory in his first game back at TD Garden. "It was actually pretty impressive to see somebody so dedicated. And you know, when I had those moments during the games to just chop it up with him, he just talks about how much he just misses playing, misses being able to, you know, get a rebound, push it, talk crap to the other team, and just everything that comes with playing. But as far as his rehab goes, I mean, towards before I got traded, he was looking pretty well for sure."

Grant Williams' call to Jayson Tatum

Another former Celtic in town, Grant Williams, shared pregame that in early February, while the Hornets were in Houston at the same time as the team he spent the first four years of his career with, he called Tatum to check in on him.

"I talked to JT a couple [of] weeks ago, when we were both kind of -- saw what the process was like, asked him about the getting back into play, [the] return-to-play progressions," said Williams. "I told him, said it the other night, basketball misses him, and I think this team misses him as well in Boston, and they're going to roll with them when he gets back."

Williams, who suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in late November of 2024, also understands how challenging the rehab process is from a mental standpoint.

"One day, I was in Houston on a walk, and I was like, 'Hey, just call and check in and see how he's doing,'" said Williams, who called Tatum and Celtics physical therapist and assistant athletic trainer Nick Sang, as well as a couple of other players on Boston. "Just checking in on him, and talked for about 15-20 minutes.

"We just talked about the recovery process. And I'm thankful he was in a great mind space, cause it can be dark, you know, like he has a great support system around him, whether it's [his] mom, whether it's [his sons] Deuce and Dylan, he has Nick Sang, who I think has been vital in the process, even [videographer and photographer] Bred [Hampton] and all those guys here and keeping it light energy, [Celtics coach] Amile [Jefferson], like, just a great group. So I try my best to stay, you know, not away, but also like a person that he knows that I'm here for him anytime."

As for the fact that Tatum has even put himself in a position where he may return this season, something that could happen as early as Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks, Williams used one word to describe the progress he has made in just under 10 months: "special."