Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens met with reporters on Wednesday and fielded questions on a variety of topics. The most intriguing area of discussion was Jayson Tatum.
When asked to estimate a timeline for Tatum’s return to the court, Stevens didn’t offer one.
“We’re not putting a timeline on it, as we haven’t the whole time,” Stevens said, per CLNS Media. “He’s not gonna be back until he’s 110 percent healthy, and he feels good about it.”
“Obviously, he’s itching to play,” Stevens added. “Obviously, he hates watching … but we’ve had a lot of great talks about it … one of the things (I) love about this whole group … is they love to play.”
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Tatum’s durability before his Achilles injury on May 12 was among the very best in the NBA as far as superstars are concerned. The Celtics have not one, but two durable superstars, considering the fact that Jaylen Brown has also been incredibly available throughout his career.
Say what you want about the NBA’s “load management era”, the Celtics’ two franchise cornerstones have simply never participated in it, and that’s something to admire.
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Tatum’s current situation is obviously a totally different situation. He’s now seven-plus months removed from the injury, which has traditionally been a little over halfway through the rehab process for an Achilles tear.
Times are a’changin’ in modern sports medicine, though, and nowadays, NBA guys like Miami Heat’s Dru Smith have shown that you can come back from an Achilles after 10 or 11 months.
Much has been made about the fact that Tatum had surgery within hours of his injury, seeing as he was already in New York City, where his surgeon, Dr. Martin O’Malley, was readily available. The swiftness of JT’s operation and his relentless rehab regimen has put him in as good a position as possible to return in 2025-26.
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Even so, it’s still best to exercise caution. This is why you hear Stevens talking the way he does, and why Stevens and the rest of the Celtics’ leadership has always maintained that there is absolutely no timeline for a Tatum return.
The long-term health of Tatum is too important to risk, and the fact that the Celtics have been playing winning basketball without JT should only reinforce the idea that he should take his time coming back and guarantee way beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s fully recovered, and then some.
Featured image via David Butler II/Imagn Images
