It’s been nearly 10 months since the last time Jayson Tatum took on an NBA court. Back in May 2025, Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon. He sustained the injury in Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs’ second round against the New York Knicks.
Tatum was carried out of the arena and immediately underwent surgery the following day. Since then, the expectation has been that Tatum would miss the entire 2025-26 season. However, in recent months, there have been signs that Tatum could potentially return late into this season. The Boston Celtics star’s recovery documentary went viral on social media, and LeBron James responded.
Jayson Tatum Teasing Return
Since the new year began, rumors of Tatum potentially returning this season have spread like wildfire. This has a lot to do with his recent appearances in ads and interviews, where he has mainly discussed his recovery process.
Tatum has made it seem like he’s close to 100%, which signifies his potential comeback this season. While the Celtics star has expressed concern about returning this late in the season, he didn’t necessarily rule out the idea.
Fast forward to the present day, and Tatum has been actively posting snippets of his mini-docuseries “The Quiet Work”. The documentary features his recovery process from his torn Achilles tendon.
Tatum posted a trailer for the documentary’s third chapter on Instagram. The trailer went viral, and a fellow NBA player couldn’t help but show his support for the recovering Celtics star.
Los Angeles Lakers star James hopped on Tatum’s comment section to show some love. James posted three flexing arms and a salute, signifying that he believes Tatum is strong for getting through his Achilles injury.
“💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾🫡,” James wrote in the comments.
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As of the time of this writing, there is still no confirmed return date for Tatum. Sports analyst Bill Simmons theorized March 1 as Tatum’s potential return date, given that “The Quiet Work” will make its debut that day, while NBC moved the Celtics’ game against the Philadelphia 76ers to a primetime slot.
Meanwhile, PFSN’s Itiel Estudillo had the opportunity to talk to pain management specialist Dr. Abhinav Gautam to further discuss the severity of Tatum’s injury. While Dr. Gautam neither confirmed nor denied Tatum’s return this season, the specialist seemed optimistic that the Celtics star would make an impactful return.
For now, all we can do is wait for any official announcements from either Tatum or the Celtics.
