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Jayson Tatum’s Celtics teammate has a positive update on star’s recovery from Achilles tear
"He's moving around way better. So, he's progressing well. I'm definitely happy to see him getting back healthy."
It remains to be seen when the Celtics can expect to see Jayson Tatum back on the parquet floor.
But as the Celtics star forward continues his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Tatum’s Celtics teammate, Jordan Walsh, said that he’s been a familiar face in Boston’s practice facility this summer.
“We’ve seen him so often,” Walsh said of Tatum on the “Celtics Talk” Podcast. “I’ve seen him from when he messed up his Achilles to now, and it’s a big difference. He’s moving around way better. So, he’s progressing well. I’m definitely happy to see him getting back healthy.”
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“To see him in the gym definitely sets a precedent for everybody else,” Walsh added. “If a guy is hurt and trying to get back, then you can do the same thing. Like, you’re perfectly healthy, you should be doing the same thing.”
The Celtics have not put down any definitive timeline on Tatum’s potential return after suffering his injury during the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Knicks in May.
“We don’t and we won’t,” Brad Stevens said of any timeline for Tatum after the first round of the NBA Draft. “We won’t put a projected timeline on him for a long, long time. … It’s baby steps right now. He’s actually progressed great, but I don’t know what that means in regard to projected timelines. But that will be in consultation with him … and everybody else to make sure when he hits the court he is fully ready, and fully healthy. And that will be the priority.”
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Tatum — who underwent surgery less than 24 hours after his injury — has been walking without a boot on his foot for over a month now.
Even if Tatum exceeds expectations and puts himself on track to return by February or March 2025, it remains to be seen if Boston would want to give their top player the green light to play during what could be a bridge season in 2025-26 — rather than give him additional time to recover before the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
But speaking last month, Celtics team president Rich Gotham said that Boston is keeping all of its options open when it comes to Tatum and his availability this upcoming season.
“That’s a down-the-road question. That’s one you can’t really answer today,” Gotham said of Tatum’s chances of playing this season. “But what I know about JT is, he’s gonna do everything he can to put us in a position to make a decision. He’s gonna work hard to get back as soon as he can, and we’ll see how soon that is. But for right now, we’re not really looking at timetables.”
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With Tatum on the mend and the Celtics’ depth chart decimated due to an offseason rife with cap-related trades and free-agency exits, Walsh said that there should be plenty of opportunity for the rest of Boston’s roster to earn a greater role this winter.
“The energy is already different. You can feel it,” Walsh said. “It’s kind of like, everybody’s trying to find their footing. Everybody’s trying to make their way, because it’s a bunch of young guys who are not necessarily proven. It’s a lot of potential and unproven talent that’s on the team.
“You can feel it in every workout where everybody is going at each other’s necks. Everybody’s trying to earn that spot, earn that playing time, earn that position. So, it’s like a dog fight right now.”
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