Boston Celtics
Tatum has left the door open to possibly return from his Achilles tear in the 2025-26 season.
Jayson Tatum has appeared to make tremendous strides in his rehab from tearing his Achilles, providing some hope that he might be able to return in the 2025-26 season.
Well, there is some “buzz” around the league that Tatum could return in March, according to The Stein Line‘s Jake Fischer.
“There’s definitely buzz that Tatum could potentially be back sometime in March,” Fischer said in a stream for Bleacher Report. “They probably made vast improvements in surgery and recovery. That is certainly true.”
Of course, if Tatum is targeting a return in March, that’d mean he’d miss the vast majority of the season, likely putting the Celtics’ playoff chances at stake. That’s why Fischer believes that Tatum’s possible return this season might be a two-prong situation.
“I think the ultimate detail here is that the context of Boston’s season will be very important for what ultimately is for Jason Tatum’s return,” Fischer said. “Someone [in the chat] is saying they won’t let him play until he’s 100 percent. I completely agree. But what happens if it’s 100 percent and Boston is somewhere in the playoff picture? The Celtics don’t have any type of Indiana Pacers-style gap year idea in mind.”
While the Celtics haven’t set a timeline yet for Tatum’s return, there is one thing they haven’t done that could provide some optimism that he could play this season. Boston hasn’t applied for a hardship waiver on Tatum, which teams can only apply for if a player is expected to be out through the end of the season. The Pacers, for instance, applied for a hardship waiver on Tyrese Haliburton over the offseason to help give them some cap flexibility.
Tatum made headlines last weekend when he posted a clip of himself working out, which featured him running, dribbling, and shooting hoops at a relatively high intensity just over four months after he tore his Achilles.
Earlier in September, Tatum told “TODAY with Jenna & Friends” that he wasn’t ruling out a return this season and has a return date in mind.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Tatum said. “I think for me, and my team, the doctor, the organization, the most important thing is making a full recovery. Being back 100 percent, not rushing it. But I haven’t said, like, ‘Yo, I’m not playing this season’ or anything like that.
“What I will say is: I’m not working out and rehabbing six days a week for no reason.”
Tatum has also said that he would like to make his return from the injury at TD Garden. For those wondering, the Celtics have eight home games in March. They don’t have a homestand longer than three games, though.
Still, Tatum will almost certainly miss most of the 2025-26 season due to the Achilles tear, but he’s kept himself in good spirits as he rehabs.
“I’m in a really good spot. … So how has it been? It’s been a long journey,” Tatum said at Monday’s Media Day. “It’s tough to answer that question in 45 seconds, but I think, for me, there’s been bright spots, and getting back on the court and being able to participate in a basketball workout was definitely one of the more bright spots of this journey.
“It just felt really good to be on the court and dribbling the basketball, going through a workout, feeling like a basketball player again.”
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