Joe Mazzulla kept reporters and Boston Celtics fans alike guessing Sunday when asked about Jayson Tatum.
The buzz surrounding Tatum’s return grew earlier this month when the Celtics star practiced with Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. Tatum reportedly “looked great” in the practice session. He was brought back up to the main roster a few days later, just before the start of the All-Star break.
With teams back in action over the weekend, Mazzulla was asked Sunday if Tatum had already begun practicing with the team. The Celtics coach had a cryptic response to a reporter trying to get a clear answer on Tatum’s status.
Reporter: “Did Jayson practice yesterday?”
Mazzulla: “He was at practice.”
Reporter: “Did he participate in any of it?”
Mazzulla did not verbally answer. Instead, he stared blankly at the reporter and then looked around the room without saying a word.
“Did Jayson [Tatum] practice yesterday?”
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 23, 2026
“He was at practice.”
“Did he participate?”
Joe Mazzulla: 😐
(Via @CelticsCLNS) pic.twitter.com/nmqcQklZb1
Mazzulla’s silence can be interpreted in many ways. He may have been annoyed at the second question, given that he had already answered that Tatum “was at practice.” Though the vague wording of Mazzulla’s response certainly warranted the follow-up query.
The Celtics coach could also have grown tired of being asked about Tatum in general, and his silence was meant to convey exasperation.
A third possibility — the one Celtics fans want to be true — was that Tatum did practice with the team, and Mazzulla was being cheeky with his response. It’s in Mazzulla’s nature to mess with reporters, after all.
Tatum and the Celtics have remained non-committal about Tatum suiting up at all this season. But as Tatum clears more checkpoints in his recovery, fans and reporters continue to speculate on his potential return date.
