When the Boston Celtics’ four-time first-team All-NBA superstar Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon on May 12, in Game Four of an Eastern Conference playoff semifinal series against the New York Knicks, the 18-time NBA champions’ hopes for banner No. 19 were effectively over.
On Wednesday, as the Celtics prepared to open their new season, the team’s top executive delivered an announcement about Tatum that could serve only to increase pessimism surrounding the 2025-2026 campaign as well.
The shorthanded Celtics battled to a surprising 25-point win on their home court in Game Five to keep the Kicks series alive at 3-2, but when they returned to Madison Square Garden they had nothing in the tank for Game Six. The then-defending NBA champions were unceremoniously eliminated.
Tatum Raises Hopes For Quick Comeback
Tatum’s injury only made the downcast mood in Boston worse. It was widely believed at the time that Tatum would miss the entire 2025-2026 season. But to the delighted surprise of Celtics fans, Tatum surfaced late in the summer appearing remarkably healthy.
By October, Tatum was posting videos to his YouTube channel showing him working out on the basketball court at the Celtics training facility, appearing to run and shoot with no visible restrictions.
On October 9, he even released a video in which he, with seemingly no abnormal effort, dunked a basketball from a standing position â a feat that would simply be impossible with an Achilles tendon that was not already substantially healed.
Tatum’s videos and public statements of confidence in his ability to recover quickly set off a wave of uncharacteristic optimism throughout Boston, raising hopes that Tatum could return to the Celtics sometime during the 2025-2026 season â which opens on Wednesday for the Celtics as they host the Philadelphia 76ers.
Grousbeck: Push For Early Return ‘Not Gonna Happen’
On Wednesday morning, however, the Celtics’ outgoing owner and governor Wyc Grousbeck â who now holds the title of Celtics CEO â gave an interview on Boston sports talk radio station WEEI, and in that interview he made an announcement clarifying Tatum’s status for the season â and it wasn’t great.
“We’re not gonna ever ask him to come back. We’re assuming he’s not coming back. And we’re not even gonna have any discussions about it. If at the end of â at some point he’s gonna be ready to come back, whenever that is, we’ll get five doctor’s opinions,” Grousbeck, 64, said in the interview.
“I’ll never bet against Jason Tatum, but nor will he be asked by the Celtics to come back early,” Grousbeck continued. “That’s not gonna happen.”
One media commentator, however, downplayed the significance of Grousbeck’s statement. According to CLNS Media president John Zannis, “nothing has changed” as a result of what the Celtics CEO said on the air Wednesday.
“Everyone going to run with this. same as with Tatum saying he wants to return,” Zannis wrote. “Nothing has changed. When JT (is) 100 percent medically cleared theyâll all decide together whether he plays this year.”
Tatum, as expected, is listed as “out” on the Celtics injury report released prior to the opening night game against Philadelphia.
Perhaps more worrying for Boston’s immediate future, four-time All-Star Jaylen Brown â clearly the team’s leader and top player in Tatum’s absence â was also on the injury report, listed as “questionable” with a left hamstring strain.
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