It was a long and tedious road to recovery for Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. The six-time All-Star tore his Achilles tendon in the NBA playoffs last season. He put in a lot of work during the summertime and throughout the 2025-26 season to finally get himself ready for his much-anticipated comeback.
Tatum played in his 10th game on Friday since returning from injury. He went off for a season-high 26 points on 8-of-24 shooting, to go along with 12 rebounds, five assists and two three-pointers in 37 minutes of action.
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Tatum took full advantage of his first game without Jaylen Brown, who was sidelined with an Achilles injury. Tatum led Boston to a 109-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies.Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
(Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
Tatum got deeply personal after the game, discussing his decision to return this season. There was some speculation that Tatum and the Celtics would opt to push back his return to next season. The 6-foot-8 forward, however, decided to come back to help his team compete for a championship this year.
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“It was a range of emotions, of things I was dealing with and contemplating and thinking about,” Tatum said of potentially sitting out the 2025-26 season. “Obviously, physically getting cleared by everybody. And, a lot of it had to do with where the team was at, and never wanting to take moments in a season for granted.
“Just thinking like, ‘Oh, we’ll be good next year.’ It’s like, I’ve been in the league a long time, I’ve been fortunate to be on a lot of really good teams. And you never want to take for granted opportunity to be on the team that’s contending for a championship.”
Tatum knew he would have to battle rust and conditioning issues upon his return. However, at the end of the day, he just could not let the opportunity pass.
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“I had never had basketball taken away from me, so I always — I never took the game for granted, but as you can imagine, how much I missed playing basketball,” Tatum continued. “The little kid inside me, that that’s all I wanted to do my entire life.
“So, when I was cleared and got the opportunity, it was a lot of people I talked to to make the decision, knowing that I wasn’t going to be perfect when I first came on the floor, but showing my teammates that I was willing to fight through it, and give it my all.
“And even though I wouldn’t be as in-rhythm or in condition at first, I knew it was going to take some time, but I wanted to be out there with him, I was going to do whatever it took.”
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Tatum reaped the benefit of his hard work on Friday. He had his best game since his return and is now looking like he’s reaching his peak right in time for the NBA playoffs.
The Celtics improved to 49-24 after Friday’s win. As of writing, they remain 4.0 games behind the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons.
Related: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown Draw Attention for What They Did After Celtics-Thunder
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.