We now know why Jayson Tatum isn’t ruling out a return to action at some point in the 2025-26 season.
The Boston Celtics forward, who underwent surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon just over four months ago, posted a six-minute video to YouTube on Saturday that featured footage of him lacing up his brand-new Tatum 4s and doing actual basketball drills at the Auerbach Center in Boston.
The good stuff starts around the 5:10 mark, with a clip of Tatum deadlifting a large amount of weight before hitting the court for dribbling, shooting and running drills.
Did we mention that Tatum ruptured his Achilles — an injury that sidelines many professional athletes for a full year — in MAY??
The 27-year-old has attacked his recovery maniacally, however: After getting surgery just hours following his initial injury, Tatum stayed in Boston the entire offseason, essentially treating his rehab like a full-time job and taking only the occasional weekend trip throughout the summer.
Tatum’s hard work appears to be paying off, to the point where he’s leaving his fellow NBA superstars in awe. Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant, who tore his Achilles during the 2019 NBA Finals, reacted fittingly on X after seeing Tatum’s workout video:
“Insane. Let’s get it JT,” Durant wrote.
Of course, there’s still no guarantee Tatum will return to action this season. The Celtics likely will take a conservative approach with their superstar, and there are risks associated with throwing Tatum into the fire late in the regular season if Boston is fighting to make the playoffs.
But it’s clear that Tatum is hell-bent on returning to action as soon as possible — Tatum admitted to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix he has a date “circled” on his calendar that he wants to return by — and at this rate, it’s hard not to envision his potential return becoming a serious storyline when the calendar flips to 2026.
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