The Boston Celtics star is back for his first full season since tearing his Achilles at the end of 2025.
The Boston Celtics will be on the floor again next week as NBA training camp officially opens up on Tuesday.
It will certainly be a different Celtics team than the one we saw in 2025-26, as the team traded away Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer. Furthermore, it will welcome back Jayson Tatum for a full season. He played in only 16 regular season games last season after tearing his Achilles in the 2025 playoffs.
And of course, the Celtics also made a significant free agent move in bringing in Mitchell Robinson, and they acquired Paul George in the deal for Brown.
So, head coach Joe Mazzulla will certainly have some different options at his disposal moving forward.
But the biggest question for this team is Tatum. How does he come back for a full season? Can he stay fully healthy and lead this team in the way Brown did a season ago? Can he lead the group to the same kind of regular season (56-26) that Brown did? Those questions are why I've said that Tatum has the most pressure on them of any person related to the organization this season.
ESPN put out its ranking of the Top 100 players in the NBA this week and ranked Tatum at No. 9. While the outlet certainly praised him, it raised the question of whether or not he will be the same as he was pre-injury, over a full season.
The Celtics are banking on that answer being yes.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots a technical foul against the Toronto Raptors during the first half at TD Garden. Gregory Fisher-Imagn ImagesAbout Tatum
The No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Duke, Tatum is a six-time All-Star through his nine years in the league. A five-time All-NBA selection, he has helped the Celtics get to the NBA Finals twice, and he helped them win the title in 2023-24. He was a member of the All-Rookie Team in 2017-18 and was named the All-Star Game MVP in 2023.
He has averaged 23.5 ppg for his career to go along with 7.4 rebounds.
He was better in the rebounding department after returning last season, as he pulled down 10 a game. He averaged 21.8 ppg in those 16 games, also playing six games in the playoffs.
Again, he'll have more on his shoulders this season, but he should have significant help from Payton Pritchard, George, Robinson, Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta.
The Celtics open up the preseason slate on Oct. 8.
