BOSTON — Jayson Tatum stayed in the weight room for the moments open to media on Friday afternoon as reporters flooded into Auerbach Center for an early glimpse before perhaps the most triumphant moment of his career. Some doubt remained around whether Jayson Tatum would make his return against the Mavericks at TD Garden only 298 days after tearing his Achilles. But beyond passing last-minute checks, the comeback felt inevitable after the Celtics upgraded him to questionable early on Thursday afternoon before Shams Charania’s report that Boston cleared him for a return this season — for Friday barring Tatum’s final decision overnight.
“If it does happen, it’ll be awesome. Crowd will probably love it,” Sam Hauser said on Friday morning. “He’s been around, so I think he’ll be able to fit right in, we’ll be able to fit around him if that’s the case.”
Then, the Celtics announced roughly five hours before tip-off — Tatum was back.
Teammates watched a nearly 10-month return process play out nearby. Hugo González, Amari Williams and the Maine Celtics assisted in his first practice action last month while Luka Garza and Jordan Walsh participated in on-court work after the All-Star break in San Francisco. While Joe Mazzulla wouldn’t elaborate much on Tatum’s participation, he appeared to take part in a full team practice in Los Angeles, given Charania’s follow-up report that Tatum advanced to full-go in five-on-five work around that time.
Along with behind-the-scenes physical therapy that trains for the rigors of game action and strong familiarity with most of his teammates, Tatum stands as well-prepared to integrate smoothly as anyone would be in his position. But his rapid return at 28-years-old, in the thick of a conference title race on a team already thriving without him left questions about what it’ll look like. Even teammates left room for it to play out less than seamlessly.
“I have no idea what it’s gonna look like,” Derrick White said. “He hasn’t played in a really long time. We all hope it’s the best thing in the world, but there are gonna be ups, there are gonna be downs. I think we’re all willing to work through that. The main thing is to win games and just do what it takes to win. J.T.’s a guy who can do a lot of things on the court. It’ll be great having that.”
Tatum and the Celtics said throughout the process that Tatum would not return until he reaches 100% in his recovery, a comeback aided by what Kevin Durant heard were improvements in Achilles surgery since he underwent the procedure. Newer, minimally invasive procedures compared to the one Durant underwent allowed for a rapid return. While Kobe Bryant, Rudy Gay and others came back in less total time than Tatum, his return to a star role with the Celtics in his prime from the injury this quickly is unprecedented in NBA history.
To get there, Dr. Gregory Waryasz from Mass General Brigham told CLNS Media, he would have needed to check single-leg strength thresholds early, then monitor running cycles, agility testing and vertical leaping measurements compared to normal. Charania reported that balancing his calf strength became the final hurdle in his return to play, while Tatum himself expressed overcoming the mental hurdle and getting the recovery right the first time in his media appearances across recent months. Tatum will likely work through a minutes ramp-up in his return, according to medical experts.
“I wouldn’t expect him to play the whole game, but I think they’ll probably ramp him up with a good amount of minutes now and then increase over time,” Waryasz said. “It also has to do with team flow and team play, reincorporating him into the scheme of a team that is very good right now as they are, so as not to change team dynamics, but he’s been practicing with the team and he knows the system. So they’ll they’ll kind of put him in, make sure that they manage his load so that he doesn’t get a tendonitis coming back, and that would hold him out a little bit.”
Waryasz will watch Tatum’s lateral movement and explosiveness in his first game back, something not visible in workouts open to the media during Tatum’s recovery. Increasingly, players return to previous form, with Dru Smith saying he felt like himself within the first week of his first game action since the tear. The newer procedures allow for smoother tendon gliding and earlier strength training, Waryasz said, which he has personally utilized for roughly eight years now, one using anchors in the heel/bone and another that sews the tendon together. Both have seen high success rates of timely returns, alongside other post-surgical therapies.
The Celtics, in turn, have welcomed Tatum’s return from Jaylen Brown and Joe Mazzulla down through the rest of the roster. His participation in road trips, film sessions and workouts won’t make the addition feel new to anyone, González said. He sat next to Tatum on flights and felt that way despite having yet to play in an NBA game alongside Tatum. Everyone saw his final steps, Xavier Tillman Sr. said earlier this week that Tatum looked good even before Boston traded Tillman in early February. Much of that work came on the side, however, and his action will now come within the context of full team action at NBA game speed and soon in an abbreviated push toward a championship.
“A lot of it has been on his own,” White said. “We didn’t really talk much about him coming back, but everyone was aware of what he was doing. I wouldn’t say we’ve done a lot of stuff together, but he’s been around a lot, especially as of late, and it’ll be good to get going with him once the ball goes up.”
