Former Duke Blue Devils star has received a worrisome take from an NBA coach.
Amazingly, Duke Blue Devils legend Jayson Tatum is back on the floor 10 months after tearing his Achilles in last year's NBA playoffs.
The Boston Celtics star has certainly shown some rust, but he is averaging 19.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals over 30.3 minutes per game.
For someone who hasn't played basketball in almost a year and experienced arguably the most devastating injury an athlete can suffer, Tatum has looked pretty good.
However, it's clear that he isn't quite himself just yet.
The six-time All-Star is shooting just 39.1 percent from the floor, making 30.1 percent of his three-point attempts. His free-throw rate is also well below his norm, as he is taking just 3.7 foul shots a night.
An unnamed assistant coach spoke to ESPN's Tim Bontemps about Tatum, and he feels that the Duke product is settling at the moment.
"To me, the [nearly nine] 3s a game tell the story," the assistant coach said. "He's still super smart, and he can shoot it. But he doesn't seem to trust [his leg yet], or he can't go by guys yet, so he's hunting his jumper more than ever."
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images.To be fair, Tatum attempted 10.1 threes per game last year, so he has always been a high-volume long-range shooter. The difference is that 53.6 percent of Tatum's field-goal attempts have been from distance this season, up from 49.7 percent last year.
Another assistant coach echoed similar thoughts.
"He just doesn't look like he has confidence in that leg yet. [But] if you let him shoot spot-up jumpers and rhythm looks, he'll be good," the coach said.
Tatum has played nine games since returning, with the Celtics going 7-2 in those contests. That included a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this week, in which Tatum finished with 19 points, 12 boards and seven assists.
It seems very obvious that the 28-year-old still has a long way to go before he can get back to being himself, but all things considered, Tatum is playing some pretty fine basketball.
Tatum spent one year at Duke in 2016-17 before being selected by Boston with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
He was also named the Blue Devils' chief basketball officer before the start of the 2025-26 campaign.
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