Celtics Insider’s Reaction To Jayson Tatum Injury News: ‘Just Dismiss It’

It’s been assumed for months that Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum would be returning to the lineup at some point during the 2025-26 campaign.

That’s why Tatum’s Wednesday update that he might not come back this season shocked fans and media members alike.

NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg and Abby Chin discussed their reactions to Wednesday’s news on the “Celtics Talk Podcast.”

“My immediate reaction is to just dismiss it,” Forsberg said. “I do think Tatum showed a bunch of self-awareness in those comments on The Pivot where he kind of said, ‘Hey, the Celtics have a good thing going. I don’t want to come in and be a disruptor.’ On the other hand, the Celtics still need some pieces to be a true contender, and I ultimately think for them to be in that mix, Jayson Tatum needs to be on the court.”

Chin, likewise, said she was “surprised” by the latest update.

With the Celtics exceeding expectations through the first half of the season, Forsberg opined that if Boston wants to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference, they’ll need their six-time All-Star back on the court.

“The Celtics have been good and they’re playing different, and I think Tatum has every right to think that there will be pain points or bumps in the road trying to re-acclimatize,” Forsberg said. “I think the bigger thing is, he just needs to get over that, because the best version of the Celtics includes Jayson Tatum.”

Tatum is 36 weeks removed from his surgery to repair the torn Achilles tendon that he suffered during Boston’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks.