Jayson Tatum has reportedly accelerated his timeline for return to NBA action. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Tatum will be back this season for the Celtics.
“He told me he’s coming back this season,” Chris Haynes reportedly said during his latest appearance on the SiriusXM radio show.
NBA fans saw this news on social media and had some eye-opening responses. Most were left shocked at the possibility of returning so soon from an injury as serious as rupturing his right Achilles tendon.
“Are you actually serious?”
“Tatum’s back? Celtics just got scary again.”
“This would possibly be the fastest comeback after a torn Achilles.”
“Celtics with Tatum come playoffs could be really dangerous.”
“This could go really good or really bad for the Celtics.”
“So if Tatum reinjures himself this season, who gets fired??”
Several such reactions flooded social media, even at the possibility of seeing Tatum back in action this season. While most were worried about their teams, some also raised a valid concern that rushing a return at this point may not be worth the risk.
The Celtics are currently the fourth seed in the East with a 15-11 record for the season so far. If anything, Tatum should only consider taking that risk during the postseason or at a point when Boston doesn’t seem to be in a comfortable position in the regular season.
We all know that Tatum was rushed early to surgery, is itching to come back, and has been showing all the right signs for an early return to NBA action, but an Achilles injury is one of the hardest injuries to bounce back from for a basketball player.
Only Kevin Durant was arguably able to bounce back to the same level as he was before suffering the same injury. Almost no one else has returned from an Achilles injury at that elite level. Therefore, Tatum needs to reconsider this decision multiple times before deciding at what point to return to NBA action this season.
Jaylen Brown recently spoke about Tatum’s progress on returning from injury on a live stream with DDG. Even he was confident that Tatum would return much sooner than expected.
“You know the doctors are different now. He never really gets hurt, he always just recovers… He’ll probably break the record for the fastest recovery in Achilles history. I wouldn’t put it past him,” Brown said.
Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in the 2024-25 regular season while shooting 45.2% from the field. So we know what the Celtics are missing on the court as compared to last season.
However, other young players like Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons have upped their game to help Jaylen Brown and Derrick White lead the Celtics to a playoff-contending position in the East.
Therefore, Tatum should not take the risk of returning unless extremely necessary. He should not accelerate his return solely to change the narrative that the Celtics are not championship contenders anymore.
