Boston Celtics fans scrolling social media on Saturday morning were met with a surprise Jayson Tatum photo dump on the team’s social accounts. The Celtics shared pictures of the star forward taking part in Thursday’s shootaround in San Francisco.
Another day of work 💪 pic.twitter.com/EJD0iT58rP
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 21, 2026
Judging by the photo of Tatum trying to score on Luka Garza, it looks like he was doing some live work with the team. According to him, the activity was an optional workout ahead of the Warriors game.
As Spotrac’s Keith Smith pointed out, there’s time on the shot and game clocks in the photo where JT drives on Garza. There’s a fair chance that they were running some sort of simulated game in that shot -- something that, to public knowledge, hadn’t happened with the NBA Celtics yet.
With consecutive days off, Boston had a day for a full practice. Looks like a familiar face was part of that session.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 21, 2026
Take a look at the picture where Jayson Tatum is driving on Luka Garza. There's time on the game clock and shot clock. That means this was likely at least a… https://t.co/oeQ3y77MNo
There's still no return goal for Jayson Tatum: 'One day at a time'
Of course, two weeks ago, the All-NBA forward participated in a practice with Boston’s G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.
“He’s still in that natural progression of just continuing to chip away at his goals on the court, his goals in the weight room, his goals in the treatment,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters in Santa Monica. “So he's just continuing to go step by step to be as healthy as he can be.”
Tatum spoke with reporters in Los Angeles ahead of the team’s Saturday practice and stressed that he’s proud of the work he’s done to this point to even make it a conversation as to whether or not he’ll play this season.
“I think it's just important that I've worked this hard to just kind of get myself in a position where it could be a conversation.”
Thursday’s shootaround indicates that he’s progressing well on his way back from the ruptured Achilles he sustained last spring in the playoffs.
To this point, the team has been extremely tight-lipped about Tatum’s rehab process. So, their willingness to share these photos is not nothing. There was some intention here. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s coming back next week, but they’re feeling good enough to give the community a look behind the curtain.
As far as a return date goes, Tatum said there’s nothing set in stone.
"I do not have a date... I just take it one day at a time. I feel better than I did yesterday."
The social post comes on the heels of ESPN’s Shams Charania’s report that Tatum has been playing five-on-five for weeks.
“Jayson Tatum has been doing 5 on 5 for a period of weeks now,” Charania said during an appearance on the Throwbacks podcast. “These are the steps you take as you ramp up. At the end of the day only he can be the one that gives the final clearance. About a dozen people involved here at the end. Doctors, his side, Celtics officials, are eventually gonna gather in a room and be like ‘ok, we’re good. Let’s move forward”
Though there hasn’t been much said by team officials on when they expect Tatum back, the messaging has been consistent to this point -- making sure he’s 100% ready before he steps back onto the parquet is the top priority.