Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum won his first NBA championship in 2024, but his fortunes turned for the worse last season.
The five-time All-NBA honoree ruptured his Achilles tendon against the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, putting him out of commission for the rest of the season. The Knicks then eliminated the Celtics two games later, ending their back-to-back title bid.
This was Tatum’s first serious injury, as he played at least 64 regular-season games every year since being drafted and didn’t miss a playoff contest before 2025. The six-time All-Star could miss the entire upcoming season while he rehabs.
However, Tatum posted an encouraging recovery update to his YouTube channel on Thursday.
The video shows Tatum deadlifting and doing basketball drills despite rupturing his Achilles tendon just five months ago. The injury usually sidelines athletes for a full year, such as when future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant missed the 2019-20 campaign after going down in the 2019 Finals.
On the other hand, Tatum’s progress shows why he won’t give up on possibly returning this season, via NBC Sports Boston.
A harsh reality of sports is that a team’s future can be put in jeopardy with just one injury, and that’s the case in Boston. The Celtics have talent outside of Tatum, but they’re unlikely to make it far in the playoffs without their star.
Players like 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, two-time All-Defensive Second Teamer Derrick White, and 2025 Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard will hold down the fort in his absence. Boston also traded veteran guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for the 26-year-old Anfernee Simons, who averaged 19.3 points per game (42.6 percent FG, 63.3 percent 3-point) last season.
That core should keep it competitive in the Eastern Conference, which has no surefire contenders besides the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. For example, the Indiana Pacers will be without star guard Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), and the Milwaukee Bucks have little support for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo after releasing Damian Lillard (Achilles).
Still, it will be hard to get past a healthy Knicks or Cavaliers team in the playoffs without Tatum. New York was on its way to going up 3-1 in last year’s Conference Semifinals matchup before Tatum got hurt, and Cleveland retained the same core that led it to the No. 1 seed last year.