Nearly a full month ago, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum experienced the biggest setback of his NBA career.
In May during the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the six-time All-Star ruptured his right Achilles tendon and had to be helped off the court, putting the immediate future of the Celtics in peril and adding to the uncertainty of the approaching offseason.
Whether Tatum plays during the 2025-26 season remains to be seen, as the recovery process will take several months at the very least. And while his return to action has no set timeline, there have been a few positive signs.
In fact, Tatum even offered an optimistic update on X (formerly known as Twitter) 25 days into his rehabilitation.
“Day 25,” he wrote on Saturday afternoon. “Days starting to get a little easier.”
What we know about Jayson Tatum’s injury rehab
On Tuesday, May 13 — less than 24 hours after the C’s dropped Game 4 to the New York Knicks — Tatum went under the knife in New York City. He was able to undergo surgery so quickly because Madison Square Garden happens to be less than 30 minutes from HSS, the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Leading Tatum’s surgery was Dr. Martin O’Malley, a household name in the world of sports medicine who also successfully operated on 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant in 2019. Like Tatum, Durant suffered an Achilles tear in the playoffs, going down during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Since then, the current Phoenix Sun has made multiple All-Star teams and All-NBA squads.
Tatum wants to bounce back in a similar fashion, and Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is hopeful about the speedy start to his star’s comeback.
“I thought it was about as good of a transition in about as bleak of a feeling as you could have,” he told the media during his end-of-season press conference.
Before Tatum even left MSG on Monday, May 12, he was on the phone with Dr. Anthony Schena, the Celtics Chief Medical Officer and Head Team Physician. And before the Celtics released their official injury report at 5:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, he was done with surgery.
Brad Stevens said Jayson Tatum and the Celtics were on the phone with doctors before even leaving MSG. Said surgery was done by the time the injury report was out.
Also mentioned how not playing was obviously difficult for JT:
“Even missing 2 games was grueling for him.” pic.twitter.com/gY9xAbX9R3
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) May 19, 2025
Although a successful surgery and a promising message from Tatum is all Celtics fans have to go on at the moment, both tidbits are good news. Boston should enjoy all the positivity it can get right now, especially since roster shakeup and potential trades loom large this summer.
The Celtics are facing a historically massive bill if they don’t shed some payroll and get back under the second tax apron. But to avoid those penalties, the front office will have to part ways with some talented players who helped make the C’s champions again in 2024.
What the 2025-26 Celtics will look like is a relative unknown, yet, no matter what, they can count on Tatum staying motivated in his journey back to the court.
The post Celtics’ Jayson Tatum issues 7-word message on Achilles injury rehab appeared first on ClutchPoints.
