Jayson Tatum Injury Timeline: Can He Return During 2025-26 Nba Season?

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As nan Boston Celtics get their 2025-26 play going against nan 76ers connected Wednesday, it'll beryllium without their No. 1 star, Jayson Tatum.

Tatum tore his Achilles tendon successful a crippled against nan Knicks past postseason, a sadistic rustle to not only nan Celtics' chances nan remainder of nan measurement that year, but besides for nan team's 2025-26 run arsenic good owed to nan lengthy betterment timeline Tatum is now on.

Tatum is wide expected to miss nan entirety of nan 2025-26 season, arsenic nan modular timeline for betterment from an Achilles' wounded is typically astir a year. He's said to person consulted Kevin Durant, different awesome prima who has suffered an Achilles' wounded himself, connected nan recovery. Durant missed a afloat season.

Tatum did, however, stock pinch Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix that he has not wholly ruled retired a return during this season. But specified an optimistic result would beryllium reasonably shocking, and Mannix later added that plentifulness of group successful Tatum's circle dream he'll return nan afloat twelvemonth to recover.

"...Boston, which is gearing up for a tally successful nan 2026–27 season, whitethorn spot a travel to nan lottery arsenic much useful to nan team’s semipermanent goals. The stake present is we don’t spot Tatum successful unrecorded action until adjacent fall," Mannix wrote successful a notebook precocious past month.

Barring a monolithic astonishment and unthinkable betterment timeline, expect not to spot Tatum connected nan tribunal this season.

Celtics That Will Need to Step Up With Tatum Out

As Mannix alluded to successful his notebook, a year-long region for a team's A-1 superstar is not needfully nan worst point for semipermanent roster building successful nan NBA. Should nan Celtics struggle this year, they could find themselves successful nan draught lottery pinch a chance astatine obtaining a favorable prime to brace pinch Tatum's presumed return successful precocious '26.

Don't expect Boston to dishonesty down coming into nan twelvemonth successful pursuit of that objective, though. A reasonably unfastened Eastern Conference creates an opportunity to compete, moreover without Tatum. If they are to make a tally astatine a playoff spot, nan squad will request contributions from respective players to thief backfill Tatum's impact. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each fig to stay cardinal cogs successful Boston's crippled plan.

That trio averaged 22.2, 16.4, and 14.3 points, respectively for Boston past season. They'll person to footwear it into precocious cogwheel to backfill Tatum's 26.8 points per game. In particular, Brown's domiciled arsenic a superior prima will beryllium an absorbing 1 to watch arsenic nan twelvemonth goes on, arsenic he's been viewed arsenic nan second-best subordinate for his tenure together pinch Tatum successful Boston.

In summation to missing Tatum from injury, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, who some contributed double-digit scoring per crippled past year, also departed via offseason trades.

This offseason, Boston's biggest moves were adding halfway Chris Boucher and large man Luka Garza successful free agency. They besides acquired Anfernee Simons successful nan waste and acquisition that sent Holiday out. Simons is nan only 1 of that trio who has been a reliable high-volume scorer passim his career.