The Boston Celtics made a huge change to their injury report ahead of Friday's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Friday marked the first time in the 2025-26 NBA season that Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum was listed as available, as they officially removed him from the injury report ahead of their Friday night game against the Dallas Mavericks. It’ll be an incredible return for Tatum, less than 10 months removed from a torn right Achilles tendon that he suffered in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. And while that injury was expected to devastate the franchise, the Celtics sit second in the Eastern Conference heading into Friday night with Tatum’s major return as they look for another win in their 41-21 season campaign.
It’s a major final hurdle the team is clearing with Tatum, as it’s been a diligent, patient process that both sides have strongly tried not to rush. After getting surgery one day after his May 12 injury, Tatum has been on a long and demanding rehab process that has allowed him to heal to the point of seeing real game action for the first time this season. It comes at a strong time where Boston won’t have any back-to-backs in their next 12 contests, giving Tatum some time to work back his conditioning until that next one on March 29 and 30.
Here is the full story from Celtics Roundtable writer Tom Carroll on the major news out of Boston.
Both the Celtics and Tatum haven’t cut corners to get to this point, and allowed Tatum to return on his timeline, which psychologically should stand to make a difference after so much significant game action missed.