Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been rehabbing from his Achilles injury for months in hopes of returning this season.
The Boston Celtics may have All-Star forward Jayson Tatum in the mix by the week’s end.
Per multiple reports, Tatum is expected to make his 2025-26 season debut in Friday’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). Tatum, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, is being described as ready to go and will inform the team of a final decision in the next day.
Additionally, Tatum was upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game.
Jayson Tatum has been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game against Dallas, putting the All-Star in position to make his long-awaited season debut. https://t.co/1jASkFIY0e
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) March 5, 2026
There's an expectation that Jayson Tatum will make his 2025-26 season debut for the Boston Celtics on Friday night at TD Garden versus Dallas, sources tell ESPN. Tatum has been described as ready to go and will inform the Celtics of a final decision over the next day. https://t.co/id20oBkXi0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2026
It is the first time this season he hasn’t been listed as sidelined and undergoing rehabilitation for the injury he suffered during Game 4 of Boston’s Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the New York Knicks last May.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has said that Tatum wouldn’t be cleared to return until he was ready to play both physically and mentally. That time may have arrived.
Tatum also has previously indicated that his return to the court would be a home game. The Celtics (41-21) have 20 games remaining in the regular season, including 11 at TD Garden. Boston is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference.
“I didn’t come back to be no role player, Doc,” Tatum said weeks after the surgery to his physician during a checkup that was chronicled in the recently released documentary “The Quiet Work,” which followed his rehab process.
He practiced with the team’s NBA G League affiliate in early February and has been on a rapid pace to return to the court in roughly nine months since his injury.
Making progress 💪 pic.twitter.com/TMLjpl2FZv
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 10, 2026
When Tatum was injured last season, his thoughts quickly pivoted away from the devastation he felt for himself and what would soon be the end of his team’s bid to repeat as NBA champions.
He made the decision quickly to begin the process of turning the page and opted to have surgery the very next day.
The typical rehabilitation window to return to basketball action following Achilles tendon surgery is between 9 and 12 months.
If he indeed plays on Friday, the 28-year-old Tatum, who had surgery on May 13, will make his return to the court after 298 days.
That’s not far beyond the recovery time it took for Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins to recover from his Achilles tendon rupture. Wilkins returned at age 33 after 283 days to play in the 1992-93 season. He went on to appear in 71 regular-season games that year, averaging 29.9 points per game and being named to the All-Star team.
Tatum is in the first season of the five-year, $314 million extension he signed in 2024. He celebrated his 28th birthday on Tuesday.
After practicing with the Celtics’ G League team in February, Tatum said he hadn’t yet decided whether he’d return.
“It doesn’t mean that I’m coming back or I’m not, it’s just following the plan. So it’s just another step,” Tatum said. “I don’t know the percentage. I just know I feel a little bit better every day. I just try to focus on that.”
Tatum said in the same interview that he is also mindful of not wanting to disrupt the progress of the Celtics.
“I’m just hyper aware of what’s going on. I think it would just stem from that. Obviously, I know what I bring to the table and bring to the team. But I’m also aware that these guys have been playing extremely well,” Tatum said.
The six-time All-Star averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and six assists per game over 72 games last season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
