Jayson Tatum has cleared another benchmark in his Achilles rehab, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported Sunday on the network’s pregame show that the Celtics star “has started controlled 5-on-5 scrimmaging with coaches.” That’s a step up from the 1-on-1 workouts reporters have witnessed in recent weeks.
When might Tatum return to game action? That remains unclear. Neither he nor the Celtics have shared a projected timeline, and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said Friday that Tatum “still has a ways to go” before the team will consider reactivating him.
Tatum recently acknowledged the potential “challenges” of reintegrating into a Boston team that has excelled without him. A subsequent report indicated he was “reevaluating” whether to return this season or sit out until 2026-27.
“He has aggressively attacked his rehab at every turn,” Charania said. “And listen, there’s more boxes for Jayson Tatum to check. There’s more phases in his rehab. He’s got to practice with the team, of course. And then, again, there’s also the normal nerves of coming back from an injury of this magnitude — a torn Achilles in May — to a really good team that has aspirations for potentially advancing in the playoffs.
“And Jayson Tatum has made clear to people around him, from my understanding, that he wants to come back as close to Jayson Tatum … as possible. Not a shell of himself. Not a lesser percentage of himself. And the other side of all that is the Celtics’ medical staff will have to clear him 100% before he can return, and he himself will have to feel 100% confidence and trust in that leg before he makes a potential return this season.”
The Celtics want the same, Stevens said.
“The best (time) for Jayson Tatum to come back is when he’s 110% healthy, he’s fully cleared by everybody that matters in that decision, and he’s got great peace of mind and he’s ready to do it,” Stevens said in his post-trade deadline news conference. “That’s it. That’s the objective, and that’s what we’re going to stick with.”
Asked whether the Celtics have an internal deadline for Tatum’s return, Stevens replied: “When we feel 100%, it’ll be a group getting together and talking.
“I think our medical people are really good,” he said. “I think his doctors are really good. So we’re going to listen to them. He’s listening to them. I think (trainer) Nick (Sang) and (Taum) have had an amazing work ethic throughout this whole recovery. When it’s right, then we’ll all sit down and talk about it. There’s still no force from us. There’s no pressure from us. But there’s also not going to be any of us saying, ‘Well, why doesn’t he just take another week?’ When he’s ready, he’s ready.”