NBA star Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics could make his return from his Achilles tear against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, March 6, according to Bill Simmons.
Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in May.
A six-time All-Star, Tatum is one of the best players in the league. He holds career averages of 23.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. The Duke product, along with Jaylen Brown, helped the Celtics win the 2024 NBA championship against the Mavericks in five games.
Many people thought Boston would be a play-in team this season without Tatum. However, Brown is putting up MVP numbers and has the Celtics in second place in the Eastern Conference standings. The forward is averaging 29.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
If Tatum does return this season, the Celtics could win their second championship in the Tatum-Brown era. Boston currently has the second-best net rating in the NBA.
Tearing his surgically repaired Achilles is not something Tatum is worried about. He told DJ Siddiqi of Poker Strategy in October that he’s confident his surgically repaired Achilles isn’t at risk of re-tearing.
“I mean the exact number, I know the number is low,” Jayson Tatum said. “Everybody thinks it’s a time-based recovery. Time is obviously important, but you have to hit certain benchmarks. The most important thing is all these tests of your strength, the strength in your calf, the strength in your leg. Getting into the same strength as your left calf or even stronger.
“For some guys, that takes six, nine, 12 months. Everybody’s just different. But the surgery that I got, the things that we’ve been doing, I feel very, very confident in that surgical site. We won’t have that problem again.”
Tatum played in 72 games last season. He averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
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