BOSTON (AP) — Boston All-Star Jayson Tatum took a big step toward returning from his torn Achilles tendon when he was assigned to practice with the Maine Celtics, the organization's G-League team, on Monday.
The organization said he would immediately be recalled to the Boston Celtics and continue to rehab the injury he sustained in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring.
Tatum led the Celtics to their title in 2024 and had them on track for a repeat before the injury, which was expected to keep him out for about a year.
Boston entered Monday night with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, and a Tatum return could help propel the team to a long playoff run. Tatum expressed doubts last month whether he might upset the team's chemistry by returning, but Brad Stevens, the team's president of basketball operations, said that was not a concern.
“Obviously, any team with Jayson Tatum’s going to be better,” Stevens said on Friday. “If he needs it, I’ll tell him every day. Because every team -- all 30 of us -- would be way, way better with him on the team.”
Stevens said Tatum still has “a ways to go,” and the team isn’t going to rush him.
“He’s hit a lot of the thresholds, he’s doing more and more and will continue to do more and more,” Stevens said. “There’s no pressure from us. But there’s also not going to be any of us saying, ‘Well, why don’t you just take another week?’ It’s going to be: When he’s ready, he’s ready.”
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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, walks off the court after an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, applauds while seated alongside forward Jayson Tatum, who both did not play, during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
