It’s been over eight months since Jayson Tatum underwent surgery to repair the torn Achilles tendon he sustained in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Boston Celtics fans have watched Tatum progress from wearing a boot in the weight room, climbing stairs multiple steps at a time at a community event in Providence, Rhode Island, to seeing his on-court workouts ramp up.
As they’ve watched the star forward work his way back into playing shape, the Celtics community has wondered more and more each day when Tatum will return to action -- especially now, with it being in the eight-to-nine-month range his father had told ESPN and Andscape’s Marc J. Spears that they had set as a goal for his recovery timetable.
Tatum made an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of “The Pivot” podcast and gave fans a hint of when the time might actually come.
“If or when I do come back this season, they would have played 50 some-odd games without me,” he explained. “They have an identity this year, or things that they felt has clicked for them, and it’s been successful.”
Heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics are exactly 46 games into the 2025-26 campaign. They’re not quite at the “50” number JT threw out there, but they’re getting close (obligatory eyes emoji).
Tatum is understandably anxious about how his return will impact the second-place Celtics
With the potential for Tatum’s return looming for the past month or so, the fanbase has started to talk themselves into a pretzel regarding how he’ll fit into this year’s team. As ridiculous as it all sounds coming from the fans, considering that Tatum and Jaylen Brown won a championship together two years ago, Tatum feels those worries, too.
“How does that look, with me integrating myself off an injury, 50-60 games into a season?” he questioned. “Obviously could be some challenges. And it’s a though, like, ‘damn, do I come back? Or should I wait? It’s something that I honestly, recently, in the last two weeks or so, kind of just contemplate every single day.”
There are a few things from this second phrase to digest. First, Tatum once again throws out the 50-60 game range for when he may be ready to come back. For someone with as much media training as him, it’s tough to imagine that this is by accident.
Whether or not he’ll actually come back in the coming weeks is another story, but he’s probably feeling physically capable.
Second, Tatum’s reluctance to return is natural. He just spent months fighting his way back from a potentially career-altering injury. Of course, he’s feeling some butterflies. Plus, he’s watching his teammates play exceptional basketball.
Boston is sitting at second in the East at 29-17. They’re third in the NBA in net rating this season, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons.
It makes sense that he’s a little worried that he could throw off the chemistry or disrupt the team’s momentum.
Whether or not Tatum can gel with this season’s Celtics squad has yet to be seen. We’re all just going to have to wait until he actually laces ‘em up to find out. But there’s no reason to doubt that he’ll help them win games. If there’s one thing that Jayson Tatum has done throughout his career, it’s winning.
Boston has never missed the playoffs since drafting JT in 2017. Not only has he led teams to the postseason, but early in his career, he adopted a smaller role alongside bigger stars like Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker.
There’s no question that Tatum can serve as a shapeshifter if he’s asked to do so.