Jayson Tatum clearly had to shake off the cobwebs in his first game back since tearing his Achilles last May.
The Boston Celtics star made his long-awaited season debut on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks in front of a capacity crowd inside TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Fans were ready to erupt for Tatum’s first basket in nearly 300 days, but had to wait quite some time to do it.
Tatum was short on his first few jumpers, which prompted him to attack the rim with purpose early in the second quarter. He went up for a ferocious dunk and hilariously got stuffed by the rim.
Next time, JT 😅
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 7, 2026
Jayson Tatum attempts the dunk in his return from injury. pic.twitter.com/gcYUxaqB5l
The moment would be embarrassing under most circumstances, but it was still somewhat of a win for Celtics fans. Tatum showed he wasn’t afraid to elevate for a jam.
The 6-time All-Star proved it once again later in the quarter, when he rose up for a putback dunk to score his first points of the game. He followed that up with a three-pointer in the corner to record five points in rapid succession.
JAYSON TATUM IS BACK pic.twitter.com/z63AgsnoDp
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 7, 2026
Tatum finished the first half with a trifecta of fives, tallying five points, five rebounds, and five assists across 14 minutes.
