Kevin Durant thinks Jayson Tatum should take rehab day-by-day before Boston Celtics return

Almost as soon as we learned about the cutting edge surgery star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum received after injuring his Achilles tendon in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals second round series vs. the New York Knicks, speculation began to abound about when the St. Louis native might return to the court.

Thanks to the “speed bridge” technique used on Tatum’s torn Achilles, there is hope he could return early — but the question everyone really wants the answer to is exactly how soon can he be playing at the NBA level again? After his Houston Rockets beat the pants of a smaller Celtics squad this weekend, CLNS Media asked Rockets forward Kevin Durant his opinion on when Tatum might return, and whether this season was feasible. “I think it’s feasible,” he replied. “I think it’s good to have that option on the table — to know that he can come back.”

“But it’s such a long way away from now,” qualified Durant. “I just feel like take it day by day, see what happens with the team, see what happens with his body, and make a decision a little later.”

“But it’s cool to keep it open,” he added. “(Tatum) just loves to play, man. He’s a gamer. He loves to hoop. I’m sure if he can get out there — no matter what the team’s record is — he’s going to get out there to play. Just the speed of the game, to be honest… pace is something you develop over time as you get more experience in the league.”

“Being out for a whole year, you miss that pace of the game. When I first came back, everything was fast. I was coming off of pin-downs 100 miles an hour. I was trying to score so fast. I was trying to contest shots without slowing down.”

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