Boston Celtics
“We’re assuming he’s not coming back, and we’re not even going to have any discussions about it.”
Jayson Tatum still has a long road to recovery. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Jayson Tatum has not ruled anything out when it comes to potentially returning to the court at some point during the 2025-26 season.
Despite rupturing his Achilles tendon during the Eastern Conference Semifinals in May, Tatum is already back on the court and dunking — a sizable step forward in what was expected to be an arduous rehab process.
“I’m in a really good spot. … So how has it been? It’s been a long journey,” Tatum said at Boston’s Media Day. “It’s tough to answer that question in 45 seconds, but I think, for me, there’s been bright spots, and getting back on the court and being able to participate in a basketball workout was definitely one of the more bright spots of this journey.
“It just felt really good to be on the court and dribbling the basketball, going through a workout, feeling like a basketball player again.”
But even with a report from The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer that there’s “buzz” around the league that Tatum is eying a return in March, Celtics team CEO and alternate governor Wyc Grousbeck opted to temper expectations about Tatum’s availability this spring on Wednesday.
Wyc Grousbeck on @TheGregHillShow discussing Jayson Tatum and a potential return:
“We’re not going to ever ask him to come back. We’re assuming he’s not coming back, and we’re not even going to have any discussions about it. At some point, he’s going to be ready to come back.… pic.twitter.com/t86imyvZzF
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) October 22, 2025
“I’m sure he does [want to play],” Grousbeck said of Tatum on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show”. “Everybody knows exactly what’s going to happen. We’re not going to ever ask him to come back. We’re assuming he’s not coming back, and we’re not even going to have any discussions about it.
“At some point, he’s going to be ready to come back. Whenever that is, we’ll get five doctors’ opinions, we’ll ask him how he feels, and then we’ll all decide jointly — let’s do this, whatever month that is, whenever that is. “But there are no discussions in the meantime. He’s expected to not be here this season.”
Grousbeck’s comments fall in line with the message echoed by Brad Stevens and the rest of Boston’s top brass when it comes to Tatum’s availability — with the team both not setting any concrete timelines in his recovery and also keeping him off the parquet until he is completely healthy.
“Look, I’ve bet on Jayson Tatum basically since the day Danny [Ainge] brilliantly drafted him,” Grousbeck said. “We’ve been all-in on Jayson Tatum, and he’s one of my favorite people on the planet for everything he does. So I’ll never bet against Jayson Tatum, but nor will he be asked by the Celtics to come back early. That’s not going to happen.”
