Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum said on Tuesday that he hasn’t ruled out returning from injury at some point during the 2025-26 NBA season.
That begs the question, if he comes back during the regular season, when might Celtics fans first see the six-time All-Star return to the TD Garden parquet?
Members of the NBC Sports Boston staff tackled that question on Tuesday and while five of the seven analysts predicted that Tatum will play during the upcoming campaign, web producer Michael Hurley and vice president of content Kevin Miller didn’t.
“I know everybody is getting excited, and that’s a good thing. Maybe I’m a worrywart, but the idea of Tatum rushing back to ‘save the day’ sounds like a recipe for re-injury, sadness, dismay, and the like,” Hurley wrote, predicting a “late October, 2026” return for Tatum. “Even with Tatum, the Celtics were going to lose to the Knicks last postseason. I think he’d be better served letting Brad Stevens cook next summer and build a behemoth for 2026-27, and then help that team go on a championship run. I see minimal reward to the risk of rushing him back.”
“I want it to be this season, but if there’s a one percent chance that he’s not 100 percent, then you have to be patient,” Miller added, foreseeing an October 2026 comeback for “JT” as well.
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Last week, Celtics beat writer John Karalis of The Boston Sports Journal predicted that Tatum could return to action in March.
The 27-year-old suffered a torn Achilles during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks on May 12.
Featured image via Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images
