Jayson Tatum is still a long way from returning to action for the Boston Celtics. But he seems hell-bent on making his absence as short as possible.
Tatum underwent surgery mere hours after rupturing his Achilles tendon on May 12 in the Celtics’ second-round playoff series with the New York Knicks. By early July, he was doing pool workouts. By August, he was out of his walking boot.
And what appears to be aiding his recovery is essentially treating it like a full time job.
Marc Bertrand and Scott Zolak, the co-hosts of 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand radio show, revealed Thursday that they went out to dinner Wednesday night with Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who relayed some positive news about Tatum’s recovery.
“The Celtics are very happy with how hard Jayson Tatum has been working at his rehab, and his level of focus and intensity in the rehab process,” Bertrand said.
“(Tatum) did not leave town. He has been here the entire time. … Since the injury, he has not left town and he has been inside the building at the Celtics’ facility with their people and their team almost every single day for months.”
It’s not uncommon for injured players to be away from the facility during their rehab, especially during the offseason. For example, there were reports before Damian Lillard re-signed with the Portland Trail Blazers that he planned to rehab from his torn Achilles in Portland, regardless of where he signed.
But Tatum apparently has been doing his entire rehab in Boston under the guise of the Celtics’ training staff at their facility. And his commitment to that rehab is such that he’s been in the building virtually every weekday, per Zolak.
“He’s taken trips. He’ll go away to a certain island or something,” Zolak said. “But he’ll get his Friday workout in, fly down, work out there at that place, fly back late Sunday night, and be right back in the building on Monday morning.”
“All summer long, all he did was take weekend trips away,” Bertrand added. “He did not go away for any extended period of time, because he wanted to be back to work on his rehab.
“He’s doing things that nobody asked him to do.”
What all of this means for Tatum’s return date is still unclear. The Celtics have refused to put a timeline on his recovery, and it’s still possible they hold him out for the entire 2025-26 season, especially if the team isn’t a serious playoff contender after losing several key players this offseason.
But if Tatum continues this round-the-clock approach to his recovery, don’t be surprised if the discussion around his possible return gets louder when the calendar flips to 2026.
Here’s more from Zolak & Bertrand on Tatum:
Tatum’s progress is undoubtedly encouraging. But even if he’s ready to play by late February or early March (about nine to 10 months after his surgery), it’s still possible the Celtics keep him out or slow-play his return to ensure he’s 100 percent healthy for the 2026-27 campaign, instead of rushing him back amid a season with lower expectations.
Either way, younger players like Walsh, second-year wing Baylor Scheierman and rookie Hugo Gonzalez will have opportunity for larger roles while Tatum is sidelined. And it sounds like there’s already a fierce competition playing out for those minutes on the Celtics’ practice courts.
“The energy is already different. You can feel it,” Walsh said. “It’s kind of like, everybody’s trying to find their footing. Everybody’s trying to make their way, because it’s a bunch of young guys who are not necessarily proven. It’s a lot of potential and unproven talent that’s on the team.
“You can feel it in every workout where everybody is going at each other’s necks. Everybody’s trying to earn that spot, earn that playing time, earn that position. So, it’s like a dog fight right now.”
Check out Walsh’s full interview with Forsberg on the latest Celtics Talk Podcast:
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