Jayson Tatum appears to be pumping the brakes on his aggressive rehab.
The injured Boston Celtics star Tatum is re-evaluating his situation and is now considering sitting out the 2025-26 NBA season entirely, Chris Haynes of NBATV reported on Wednesday. Haynes adds that a final decision has yet to be determined but characterizes Tatum’s return as being “up in the air.”
Tatum, 27, has missed the entire year up to this point after suffering an Achilles tear last May during a playoff game against the New York Knicks (see the video here). Achilles tears usually take at least 10 months for NBA players to return from, and Tatum is still only about eight months removed from his injury.
However, the six-time All-Star Tatum had seemingly been ahead of schedule in his recovery every step of the way. A video from nearly five months of Tatum progressing to dunks had especially provided optimism that he might be able to return to the Celtics at some point this season.
However, Boston has done surprisingly well in Tatum’s absence. Thanks to the emergence of Tatum’s longtime co-star Jaylen Brown as a true No. 1 option, the Celtics currently sit at 29-18 (third in the Eastern Conference). Tatum even indicated during a podcast appearance earlier this week that he did not want to return at the risk of messing up the team’s ongoing chemistry.
Jayson Tatum tells @thepivot about fitting in with the Celtics if he returns this season:
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) January 27, 2026
"It's something that I contemplate every day."
Full Episode: https://t.co/fyv8qr303e pic.twitter.com/VemrdR0PMw
Even if Tatum does not return at all this season, he still has four years and a whopping $259.8 million remaining on his contract with Boston. The Celtics, particularly Brown, are also plenty confident that they have enough to get the job done this year, even without the five-time All-NBA selection Tatum on the floor.
