NBA: Celtics star Jayson Tatum cleared to return to practice

Jayson Tatum reached an important milestone in his recovery from an Achilles tear on Monday, joining the Boston Celtics’ G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, for portions of their practice in Boston.

The Celtics said in a statement that after Tatum participates in the practice, he will immediately return to Boston to continue his rehab. The team did not provide a timeline for when Tatum might return to game action.

Tatum suffered the Achilles injury last May during the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. Despite the setback, he has been one of the NBA’s top players, earning All-Star honors in each of the past six seasons. In the last four MVP races, Tatum finished fourth twice and sixth twice. During the 2024-25 season, he averaged 26.8 points along with career highs of 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.

With Tatum sidelined for much of this season, the Celtics were not expected to be a major contender. However, Jaylen Brown has had a career year, helping Boston start the season 34-19, tied for second in the Eastern Conference with the Knicks. Brown is fourth in the league in scoring at 29.4 points per game and also set career highs with 6.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

Tatum recently told a podcast that returning late in the season could disrupt the Celtics’ chemistry. Boston’s president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, sees it differently.

“Obviously, any team with Jayson Tatum is going to be better,” Stevens said Friday. “If he needs it, I’ll tell him every day. Every team — all 30 of us — would be way, way better with him on the team.”

The Celtics also assigned Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams to practice alongside Tatum and the Maine Celtics on Monday.

—Field Level Media/Reuters