Feb. 9, 2026, 10:49 p.m. ET
BOSTON — There have been plenty of updates regarding the return of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, with tidbits of news coming from podcast appearances, vague reports, and rehashed statements. Finding updates with true weight to them has been difficult, but it seems one finally arrived on Monday afternoon.
The Celtics announced that Tatum — who’s currently rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles — was set to practice that same day at the Auerbach Center with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate. The six-time All-Star was also joined by teammates Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams, hinting that the practice session may have been more involved than a simple shootaround.
“Celtics forward Jayson Tatum will be assigned to participate in portions of the Maine Celtics practice at the Auerbach Center this afternoon,” the official press release read. “Following this practice, Tatum will be immediately recalled to the Boston Celtics, where he will continue his rehab process.”
While the statement noted that there would be “no additional information regarding Tatum’s recovery,” a Monday afternoon report (which arrived just an hour before the press release) from NBA insider Shams Charania provided extra context.
On an episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today,” Charania said that Tatum has participated in “5-on-5, controlled scrimmages” with coaches as well as members of the Celtics’ “Stay Ready Group.”
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While the exact players in the “Stay Ready” crew are not clearly outlined, in previous years it’s comprised of bench players like wing Jordan Walsh and former Celtic Xavier Tillman Sr. — guys who won’t play every night yet are prepared when their number is called. Williams fits that description and so does Gonzalez, albeit to a lesser degree.
How previous trips to Maine, other Achilles rehabs, and comments to the media relate to Jayson Tatum’s comeback
But, does Tatum working with the junior C’s actually tell us anything? Precedent points to yes, as center Kristaps Porzingis went through a similar process last season. After suffering a rare and brutal leg injury in the 2024 NBA Finals, the former Celtics big man needed surgery and months to recover.
He missed the first month of the 2024-25 campaign but on Nov. 18, the Celtics announced Porzingis was headed to Maine to rehab with the G League squad. A little more than a week later, he made his season debut at TD Garden.
Of course, Tatum might not follow the same pattern. An Achilles rupture is one of the most serious injuries in sports, and its rehabbing demands are much more significant than what certain leg injuries call for. Nevertheless, Porzingis’ time up north is still worth remembering.
As is the injury history of another former Celtic: Dominique Wilkins.
Late in his career with the Atlanta Hawks, Wilkins suffered a ruptured Achilles. About 10 months later, the Hall of Famer returned to play and dominated once again. Tatum is 8 months and 4 weeks removed from his own rupture.
If he can mirror Wilkins’ incredible recovery, perhaps he can suit up for the Green Team in March. However, it’s necessary to understand that all rehab processes aren’t equal. Every NBA player differs in terms of size and strength, so a 1-to-1 comparison of recovery periods is misguided.
With that being said, it’s not outlandish to think of Tatum as an exception to the rule like Wilkins, rejecting preconceived notions of when injured players are expected to come back and what they’re capable of. Tatum went under the knife less than 24 hours after his Achilles injury and he’s been rehabbing it ever since. And if there’s anyone willing to do whatever it takes to don the green and white, it’s him.
Such commitment goes hand-in-hand with some risk, though. A return soon after the All-Star break does not guarantee protection from re-injury. That worst-case scenario would obviously hinder the Celtics’ future, regardless of how well they’ve played with him sidelined this season.
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is aware of this danger. It’s certainly part of the reason he wants Tatum to be as close to himself whenever he does see the floor again.
“The best (time) for Jayson Tatum to come back is when he’s 110% healthy, he’s fully cleared by everybody that matters in that decision, and he’s got great peace of mind and is ready to do it,” Stevens said during a Friday morning press conference. “That’s it. That’s the objective, and that’s what we’re going to stick to.”
Will Jayson Tatum return this season?
Charania and others have issued similar reports that support Stevens’ stance. But, it’s hard not to picture what Tatum looks like with the current iteration of the Celtics when recalling what Stevens said of his franchise cornerstone’s recovery to-do list back in December.
“There are strength thresholds he has to meet,” Stevens described. “And after that, several weeks of progressions, from the standpoint of scripted against small groups, scripted against bigger groups, scripted in 5-on-5, unscripted random, all the way up through those.”
Since Tatum participated in controlled 5-on-5 scrimmages, he’s already checked off some of the boxes Stevens listed. To what degree is still unknown (and likely being kept in-house by an airtight organization), yet the Celtics star’s work is far from done.
“He’s hit a lot of the thresholds,” Stevens said on Friday. “He’s doing more and more, and he’ll continue to do more and more. He’s still got a ways to go.”
What a “ways to go” translates to on the NBA calendar is unclear, but it does remind everybody that a regular season return isn’t an obligation. The Celtics won’t force Tatum to come back as soon as possible, as they know that with more rest, chances of re-injury generally decline.
However, if he does give it a go, the C’s would be ecstatic. Despite the fact that they’re 34-19 overall and in third place in the Eastern Conference, a 111-89 beatdown from the New York Knicks on Sunday signaled that the Celtics may need reinforcements to defeat the top-tier teams in the playoffs.
Tatum is as good of a boost as the Celtics could ask for, even if he’s not at full strength. It doesn’t sound like he’ll accept himself at anything less than 100 percent, though.
“He wants to come back when he feels like he’s Jayson Tatum,” Charania reported Monday. “Not if he’s a shell of himself. Not if he’s a lesser percentage of himself.”
How Tatum fares when he returns — whether that’s this season or several months from now — remains to be seen. What feels more certain is that he will come back at some point and, given the recent news, it feels like it could be sooner rather than later.
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