Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been sidelined for nearly six months as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon. Tatum sustained the injury in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 12, and had surgery a mere hours later.
As he’s made his way through his recovery process, the 27-year-old has shared clips of his rehab workouts and has turned heads with some of the milestones he’s been able to hit so far. Most notably, a video of Tatum dunking at the Auerbach Center last month went viral on social media.
Must be the shoes 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/SQsxrWDAkX
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) October 9, 2025
He’s also made his goal of returning this season publicly known. Just before training camp started, Tatum did a media tour where he emphasized that he hasn’t ruled out that possibility at every possible opportunity.
Of course, this excited many Celtics fans and planted the seed for Tatum to do the unthinkable -- make a full recovery less than one year after tearing his Achilles.
Late Saturday night, Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant, who tore his Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals, shared some insight with CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning.
Durant emphasized that there’s a lot of work still to be done in Tatum’s recovery process, but didn’t rule out a return in the 2025-25 season.
“I think it’s feasible,” Durant told Manning. “It’s good to have that option on the table to know he can come back, but that’s such a long way away from now. I feel like he’s taking it day-by-day and see what happens with the team, see what happens with his body and make a decision at a later date, but it’s cool to keep it open I guess to play and he just loves to play man. He’s a gamer. He loves to hoop, so I’m sure if he can get out there no matter what the team’s record is, no matter what, he’s gonna get out there to play, so we all can’t wait to see him out there again.”
Even when Jayson Tatum returns, there will be an adjustment period
For many, an Achilles tendon tear can be a career-altering injury, which is why Durant’s continued greatness is so remarkable.
KD missed the entire 2019-20 season, his first with the Brooklyn Nets, and took an eventual 15 months to return to action. Remarkably, his play didn’t fall off much at all. Durant was an All-Star in the 2020-21 season, averaging 27.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game on 53.1/41.4 shooting splits.
He and the Nets were a big toe away from eliminating the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs, too.
At this point, there’s been no official timetable for Tatum’s return. The Celtics haven’t shown any interest in rushing him back before he’s ready, and authority figures like Brad Stevens and Wyc Grousbeck have made it clear that a full recovery is the top priority.
Whenever he’s ready to return to the parquet, Tatum will have to reacclimate to the NBA in the same way that KD did.
Durant highlighted how tough it was to get used to playing at the pace of an NBA game again, specifically.
“Just the speed of the game to be honest,” he explained to Manning. “Pace is something you develop over time as you get more experience in the league, and then being out for a whole year, you miss that pace of the game.”
He added that once he got used to the flow of the game again, everything came easy for him.
Durant’s insight should be a reminder to fans that it is going to take time for Tatum to get back to peak performance when he eventually returns. It’s the things that outsiders can’t quite understand that seem to be the hardest part of readjusting.
For now, Tatum supports his teammates each game from the bench, traveling to most away games too. It’s something he’s explained that helps him remain connected to the game until he’s actually able to play again -- whenever that may be.