BOSTON — Jayson Tatum expressed hesitancy about playing for the Celtics in the 2025-26 season in a recent podcast interview. It was the first time the team’s franchise player had publicly shared a pessimistic viewpoint about his rehabilitation process from his Achilles injury that he suffered in May.
Tatum had surgery on his Achilles tendon in New York City hours after he ruptured it, leading many experts to predict that he would recover at a faster rate than others with the same injury. Tatum and Kevin Durant, who was the last major NBA superstar to rebound from the Achilles injury, had surgery from the same doctor.
Questions suddenly surround whether Tatum will return.
“That’s something I contemplate every day, more so about the team,” Tatum said on The Pivot Podcast. “If or when I do come back this season, they would have played 50-some odd games without me. So they have an identity this year or things that they’ve felt that have clicked for them, and it’s been successful. You know, third, second team in the East up to this point. So there’s a thought in my head is, ‘How does that work? How does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season?’ Obviously could be some challenges. It is a thought like, ‘Damn, do I come back? Or should I wait?’ It’s something that I honestly, recently, in the last like two weeks or so, kind of just kind of contemplate every single day.”
Even though Tatum has not been able to play basketball, he has traveled with the Celtics all season and attended team activities. He is regularly seen on the team’s bench during games, often coaching up his teammates. Most recently, Tatum was seen giving props to Neemias Queta for his fast start in the Celtics’ 112-93 win over the Kings. In Tatum’s own way, he has been a part of the Celtics’ rise to the top of the Eastern Conference this season while having a front-row seat for Jaylen Brown’s MVP-type season.
Excitement for Tatum to get back on the floor heightened during the Celtics’ road trip to Detroit on Jan. 19, when reporters witnessed Tatum going through a rigorous workout. He has routinely posted such videos to social media, generating positive vibes about his recovery process.
There has not been a date set for Tatum’s return, but he is reevaluating if that will occur this season, according to Chris Haynes of Prime. The reasoning for delaying his first game back is that he “wants to get it right the first time, so it’s just a lot to think about,” according to Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN.
“Nothing’s changed,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said to Sean Grande on the Celtics Radio Network Friday night. “To me, the goals coming in were, in the offseason, just get him back, get him around, get him to surgery, make sure he’s around, make sure you have great people, and then it’s been just chipping away at recovery. Chipping away at strength and conditioning. Chip away at physical therapy. Chip away at the things that you’re learning in the middle of the game, and just put your head down and stick to that process, and pick your head up from time to time and kind of see where you’re at. And so nothing’s changed from my end. His work ethic has been great. His message has been consistent, from the standpoint, it’s not when, it’s if, and everything just comes down to how he continues to chip away at his rehab, and he’s working hard at it.”
When asked about the Celtics’ process of reintegrating Tatum onto the floor with the team, Mazzulla said the most important thing is Tatum “getting through the strength and conditioning and the physical therapy piece and continue to grow with that” before there can be discussions about him being on the floor. Starting point guard Payton Pritchard said the Celtics have not had any conversations about how Tatum would assimilate with the roster.
The Celtics are currently tied with the Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the first-place Pistons by five games. Even without Brown Friday against the Kings, other players stepped up to help secure a 19-point win in a game that was never close.
“I know JT is going to do what’s best for him, and we definitely want him back because we know what type of player he is,” Pritchard said. “It definitely put us over the top with him back in the lineup, but obviously he’s got to feel good and feel 100 percent.”
Tatum’s main concern from The Pivot Podcast was interpreting what the Celtics had built this season without him, citing a potential challenge of finding a place within the team given its season identity. Although a majority of the nucleolus from the 2024 NBA Championship team have departed the franchise, many key players are still in Boston. They remember what it was like playing with Tatum.
Pritchard denied the possibility of there being a problem when Tatum comes back, citing the years of experience many current players have working with Tatum. If there is an issue with the handful of new players who were acquired after Tatum’s injury, maybe there is a benefit to that.
“I look at disruption as a positive,” Mazzulla said on Zolak and Bertrand Thursday. “I think it’s two things. One, I think as you go through an injury and a process like this, 1,000 things are going to come up. And I think one of the greatest things about a guy like Jayson is his openness and his vulnerability and his honesty about where he’s at as a player and a person. And so I think you have to reward that.
“But the second piece is, he knows that if we get him back, we’re just going to be a better team. And there’s just no if ands or buts about that.”
But before players can begin to adjust to Tatum being back on the parquet, Mazzulla harped on Tatum’s health. He must fully clear his tests before assimilation can occur.
Until then, Tatum will continue to contemplate his return.
“The most important thing is getting through the strength and conditioning and the physical therapy piece and continuing to grow with that,” Mazzulla said. “As that continues to develop, you kind of see how that looks after that, but the most important thing is just attacking that every day and getting better at it.”