Celtics’ Jayson Tatum leaves no doubt about his prime after Achilles injury

BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum woke up on Friday morning and was officially 340 days removed from rupturing his Achilles last May.

Since then, Tatum has rehabbed, returned to play, and bounced back even faster than he could have imagined.

“Short answer would be yes,” he responded at the Auerbach Center when asked if he’s been surprised by his almost seamless comeback.

In his 16 games during the 2025-26 regular season, Tatum averaged 21.8 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per outing. Those aren’t quite the numbers the six-time All-Star is used to, but it’s practically all one could ask for given the fact that his traumatic injury was less than a year ago.

That doesn’t mean Tatum is satisfied with what he’s accomplished so far, though.

“Obviously, you want more,” he admitted on Friday. “It can be frustrating at times, but with that, you got to just take a step back and be proud of the fact of what you were able to accomplish of just coming back.”

Jayson Tatum said that he has surprised himself a bit with how well he’s bounced back from injury.

But he’s not satisfied:

Obviously, you want more.” pic.twitter.com/iIXweaJj3V

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) April 17, 2026

At 28 years old, Tatum has already reached two NBA Finals, made four All-NBA First Teams, and won a championship in 2024. To do this all before the age of 30 is impressive in such a competitive league, and it implies that Tatum might not be done stacking accolades.

“Hell yeah,” Tatum replied when asked if he’s still in his prime and has more gas in the tank.

He nodded the whole time he answered the question.

Is Jayson Tatum entering his prime?

“Just turned 28…yeah.”

You got more left?

“Oh yeah,” Tatum said while nodding.

Q via @GwashburnGlobe pic.twitter.com/hM2Q5KHYwV

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) April 17, 2026

That kind of confidence is what the Celtics will need on Sunday afternoon when they host the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. It’ll mark Tatum’s first postseason game since injuring his Achilles in Game 4 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

“Last year, getting injured made me cherish this moment,” Tatum said of the approaching playoffs.

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