Celtics Insider Weighs in on Whether Jayson Tatum Will Play This Coming Season

The Boston Celtics are looking to venture out to the court next season without their best player and one insider remains skeptical on  Jayson Tatum‘s chances to return to play, despite the team’s efforts.

The Celtics were eliminated from the 2025 NBA playoffs by the New York Knicks, but with less than three minutes remaining in Game 4, Tatum suffered a non-contact Achilles tendon tear when he dove for a loose ball. Typically, those injuries could take a year or more to recover from. Meaning, Boston will possibly play the entire 2025-26 season without Tatum.

Tatum was one of three superstars, the others being Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard, who suffered Achilles injuries in the 2025 playoffs before their teams were eliminated.

GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 12: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics is assisted off the court after an injury in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 12, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images). (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Celtics Insider Not Confident About Tatum’s Return, But Credits Front Office

NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics insider Chris Forsberg wrote about Tatum’s return in a reader mailbag story on Aug. 22.

“We think there is a 100 percent chance that Tatum is going to attack his rehab with a relentless energy and a desire to beat whatever the generally accepted timeline is for an Achilles rehab,” Forsberg wrote. “The team 100 percent put Tatum in the best possible position to do such by getting him into surgery just hours after the tear, and with a surgeon known for his expertise and advancements in Achilles repair.”

The Celtics haven’t set a timeline or formally rule Tatum out for the season, even while Haliburton has been ruled out by the Pacers. Forsberg is not confident about Tatum’s chances to return, but remains hopeful.

“Right now, the focus ought to be on getting better every day,” he said. “Tatum might have even coined the perfect rallying cry for Celtics fans in a recent video update when he noted the grueling nature of the initial rehab but optimistically declared that there are, ‘Better days ahead.’

“I am not 100 percent sure it is in the best interest of the team to put Tatum back on the court this season. I am also 100 percent not a doctor. If he rehabs to the point where it is both safe and beneficial for him to return to NBA action, then why procrastinate? But the state of the team, at the point Tatum might be ready to compete again, could dictate whether that’s a prudent decision.”

Joe Mazzulla Looks to Set a Starting Lineup Without Jayson Tatum

GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 10: Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics reacts against the New York Knicks during the second quarter in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 10, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

A starting lineup decision looms for head coach Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics. Boston currently has 19 players on the offseason roster:

• Guards: Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Anfernee Simons, Jordan Walsh, Max Shulga, RJ Luis Jr., Hayden Gray, Hugo Gonzalez
• Forwards: Tatum, Sam Hauser, Chris Boucher, Josh Minott, Miles Norris, Baylor Scheierman, Xavier Tillman
• Centers: Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Amari Williams

Forsberg said if an exhibition game was happening on Sept. 1 and he had to submit a starting lineup for the Celtics, he would play: Pritchard, White, Brown, Hauser, Queta.

“My general thinking: The remaining pieces from your championship core get first crack at starter roles this season,” Forsberg wrote.