The Boston Celtics’ future was thrown up in the air when Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the New York Knicks. In the blink of an eye, the Celtics went from being a Finals contender to likely being without their best player for the entire 2025-26 campaign.
It typically takes NBA players about a year to recover from a ruptured Achilles, so considering how Tatum suffered this injury in the postseason, the likelihood of him playing next season seems low.
Still, the Celtics aren’t going to rule him out for the season prematurely. Tatum underwent surgery to repair this injury less than 24 hours after he suffered it, which could help shorten his recovery timeline. Ideally, doctors can operate on the injury before swelling occurs, which is why Tatum went under the knife so quickly.
Beyond that, Tatum has been a notoriously durable player throughout the course of his career. At 27 years old, he has the benefit of age on his side when it comes to his quest to get healthy as soon as possible so that he can get back on the court.
Early in the offseason, Tatum has been vigorously attacking his rehab work, and it appears he’s making some serious strides. On Monday, a video of Tatum walking without a boot surfaced on social media, the latest sign that he may very well be ahead of schedule in his injury rehab.
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Of course, it’s not worth getting too ahead of ourselves when it comes to monitoring Tatum’s progress. The chances of him playing next year at any point are still low, especially with Boston retooling their roster in an effort to avoid the second apron of the league’s new salary cap.
If the Celtics are in playoff contention, and Tatum ends up being ready to go sooner than expected, could the team let him play next season? It’s a fair question to wonder, but it’s also a hypothetical at this point in time, which is important to remember as new clips of Tatum’s progress emerge.
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For now, all Tatum can do is continue to work on getting himself healthy as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Celtics front office will continue working on revamping their roster so that when Tatum does come back, they can quickly emerge as a title contender once again.
Featured image via David Butler II/Imagn Images
