Duke Blue Devils legend Jayson Tatum has received a huge update as he attempts to return to the Boston Celtics this NBA season.
Duke Blue Devils legend Jayson Tatum is still rehabbing a torn Achilles he suffered during the Boston Celtics' playoff run last May, and his status for the 2025-26 NBA campaign remains in question.
Based on the remarkable and rapid progress that Tatum has made, many have been operating under the assumption that the six-time All-Star will return at some point this season, but he has yet to make a decision.
In fact, Tatum has never explicitly said at any point that he is aiming to return this year, so it's entirely possible that he punts to next fall.
However, the Duke product just received a major update regarding his return.
Does this guarantee that Tatum will be back on the floor before the season concludes? Absolutely not. But some have used context clues to predict his return.
For example, the Celtics went out and acquired center Nikola Vucevic at the NBA trade deadline, this even though Vucevic is on an expiring contract.
If Boston wasn't anticipating a Tatum return, why would it attempt to bolster its playoff chances by bringing in a rental?
Also, the Celtics' first home game after the All-Star break — against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 1 — has been moved to a primetime slot and will now be nationally televised. Some of taken that as an indication that Tatum could return that night.
Of course, until we actually see the 27-year-old back on the hardwood, this is nothing but conjecture at this stage.
A torn Achilles is quite arguably the most devastating injury an athlete can sustain, so Boston surely wants to make sure that Tatum is 100 percent healthy before he actually sees live game action again.
It should also be noted that even if Tatum does come back this year, he will have to shake off a whole lot of rust.
Tatum spent one season at Duke in 2016-17, establishing himself as one of the top players in the country. He was then selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
The former Blue Devils star — who is now Duke's chief basketball officer — led Boston to an NBA championship in 2024.
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