After winning the NBA championship in 2024, the Boston Celtics kept their team together to run it back last year. Although they showed some warts in the first round playoff victory over the injury-riddled Orlando Magic, they still carried the highest of hopes. However, disaster struck. The New York Knicks defeated the Celtics in the second round in six games. Celtics star Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles, unfortunately highlighting the series.

Now, the question becomes not just if but when Tatum will return, as his recovery process will determine his availability for the remainder of the season.

Celtics Brad Stevens Gives an Update on Jayson Tatum

Previously, the Celtics announced that Tatum will only return if he’s 100 percent, and the status of his possible return before the season ends remains uncertain. The Celtics general manager reiterated that statement when he spoke with reporters on Wednesday. He also provided a few updates on Tatum’s potential return and on what it will take for Tatum to return to the court.

“There’s a strength threshold he has to meet. After that, there are several weeks of progressions,” Stevens explained. “From the standpoint of scripted against small groups, scripted against bigger groups, scripted five-on-five, unscripted, random all the way up through those.”

Clearly, an injury like this requires a lengthy rehabilitation period. Tatum is currently meeting the necessary benchmarks set by the team, and the Celtics sound hopeful that he will continue to progress through each phase of the recovery timeline.

“It’s a long progression,” Stevens added. “It’s almost like once you hit the strength then you do your thresholds of a progression of play and then you’re also reconditioning to play real minutes whatever that looks like.”

When you lose a player to an injury as severe as Tatum’s, you are eligible to apply for the disabled player exception. Despite this option, the Celtics have not applied for the exception.

Brad Stevens on Jayson Tatum’s potential return: “One of the things everybody can see is we didn’t apply for a (disabled player exception), and that was a conscious decision for a lot of different reasons.”

–@CLNSMedia | Q: @realbobmanning pic.twitter.com/3oRHJ9NZjo

— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) December 17, 2025

“One of the things everybody can see is we didn’t apply for a (disabled player exception), and that was a conscious decision for a lot of different reasons,” Stevens told reporters. This news is not new for the Celtics, as no reports have surfaced about them applying for the disabled player exception, and now Stevens has confirmed that decision.

Although Stevens wouldn’t come right out and say it, it is obviously hoped that Tatum can return before the end of the season. They want him to play in a few regular-season games to help improve his conditioning before the postseason begins. That would obviously be a massive turn of events. Most thought Tatum would miss the entire season when the injury first occurred.

Obviously, that’s a great plan. But the Celtics decided to part ways with point guard Jrue Holiday, trading him to the Portland Trail Blazers. They also sent big man Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta to join the Hawks. Staying in playoff contention without Tatum could prove difficult.

That has not been the case thus far. Led by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, the Celtics have started the season 15-11, tied with the Magic for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. Brown is putting up 29.3 points per game. White is averaging 17.8. Payton Pritchard (16.7) and Anfernee Simons (13.0) are also scoring in double figures. Big man Neemias Queta has also provided a spark, averaging 9.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Tatum was one of the best players in the league last season, averaging 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game.

If Brown and White can help the Celtics stay in contention for the rest of the season and Tatum manages to return before it’s over, no team will want to face the Celtics in the postseason.