Jamal Collier
Multiple Authors
BOSTON — Celtics star Jayson Tatum described his return to the court on Friday night as simply a step in the recovery from his torn Achilles, even as he acknowledged his gratitude after playing in his first NBA game in 298 days.
“I still got a long way to go,” said Tatum, who scored 15 points in 27 minutes in a 120-100 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks. “But this was a really good step.”
Tatum made his season debut in Boston’s starting lineup more than 10 months after having surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, returning on the fast end of the typical rehabilitation window of nine to 12 months following the injury.
But his first game got off to a clunky start.
Tatum took his first shot on Boston’s second possession, missing on a 16-foot pull-up jumper. In the second quarter, he crossed a defender and had a wide-open lane before missing a dunk by bouncing off the front iron of the rim.
He started the game 0-for-6 from the field and said he felt anxious early in the game.
“It’s been a long time coming just to get to this point,” he said. “Nights and days I dreamed about this moment and anticipation, the crowd. It’s been 42 and a half weeks since I played in an NBA game, so just trying to get caught up on the speed and everything. I just kind of felt like I was a step off or moving too fast. But the game started to slow down as I just kind of relaxed a little bit.”
Tatum scored on a put back dunk with 1:16 remaining in the second period, which he said helped him relax. Then, he found his groove. He knocked down six of his next 10 shots as the crowd roared every time he scored.
In addition to scoring 15 points, Tatum finished with 12 rebounds and seven assists on a night he said was a split between normal and surreal.
“I really was just kind of grateful,” Tatum said. “I had a real sense of gratitude of just being back on the floor, playing basketball. It just kind of brought me back to everything I’ve been through in the last 10 months. And the fact that I was able to even be out there today was a really big win for me.”
Tatum’s minutes were impactful on the court as well. The Celtics outscored the Mavs by 20 points during his minutes on Friday. As he began to get more comfortable in the second half, Boston ran away with the game, outscoring Dallas 62-47 after halftime.
“I thought it was a great atmosphere,” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said. “Obviously it was great having JT back. I commend him being able to put himself on the line a little bit to come back and be a part of something bigger. I think that is his mentality. I appreciate that. I know the organization appreciates that because he didn’t have to and no one put pressure on him, but he wanted to be out there.”
Tatum said there is a plan going forward for managing his playing time, but he did not go into detail about his status or whether he would be available Sunday against the Cavaliers.
Friday night marked Tatum’s first game since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last May, when he tore his right Achilles during a game against the New York Knicks.
“I don’t think any athlete thinks that they’re ever going to get hurt, at least I did not,” Tatum said. “It never crossed my mind. I felt like I did everything right, took care of my body, and I didn’t cheat the game. So when it happened, it was a … it literally knocked me on my ass, and it just kind of made me rethink a lot of things.
“I had an idea how my career was going to go, and one night it changed,”
Following his injury, the Celtics made moves to dismantle their roster from the 2024 NBA championship, trading away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis while allowing Al Horford to leave for Golden State in free agency. Tatum acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the Celtics after his injury and how he had doubts they would continue to compete at their previous level.
However, the Celtics have been one of the surprise teams of this season. They are 42-21, second in the Eastern Conference and one of the favorites in the conference.
“The start of last playoffs, we felt like we had a three, four, five year run with that team,” Tatum said. “It all changed in the moment with that team. … I didn’t know what was next.”
He added: “Can’t commend the group enough and the coaching staff of how they attacked the season, how they competed and just played together every single night. I don’t know if there’s been a team that’s more fun to watch this season play.”
Despite questions about whether Tatum would play this season, coach Joe Mazzulla said he didn’t have any doubts about Tatum’s intentions, especially because he saw how urgently Tatum elected to have surgery, one day after the injury.
“The seriousness in which you go get surgery,” Mazzulla said before Friday’s game. “The seriousness in which you start attacking the rehab process, not just from a physical, but a mental and emotional standpoint.
“Because of the decision he made right away and because of the way he attacked it, really because of the people around him, I knew he was going to do everything he could to get to a decision to where he could do this.”
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