Sources – Celtics’ Jayson Tatum expected to make season debut

Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum is expected to make his 2025-26 NBA season debut against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night at TD Garden, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Thursday.

Tatum, whose return comes less than 10 months after tearing his right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks, has been described as ready to go, sources told ESPN, and he is expected to inform the Celtics of his final decision ahead of Friday’s action.

He has diligently been working on trying to play this season since he suffered the devastating injury against the Knicks. He had surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery by Dr. Martin O’Malley less than 24 hours after the injury occurred.

Tatum, who turned 28 on Tuesday, is a six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection — including four consecutive first teams from 2022-25 — and a two-time Olympic gold medal winner. The potential for his return has been an ongoing storyline all season — one that’s only been heightened by Boston’s success this season.

The Celtics, led by longtime co-star Jaylen Brown, who is in the thick of the MVP race, are in second place in the Eastern Conference standings entering Friday’s action and are on pace for yet another 50-win season. They’ve received strong contributions from fellow 2024 title veterans Derrick White and Payton Pritchard and impressive growth from young players like center Neemias Queta and wings Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and rookie Hugo Gonzalez.

It’s all validated the approach of coach Joe Mazzulla since the preseason, when he shot down any notion of this being a “gap year” for the Celtics with Tatum hurt and several veterans having left the franchise last summer — Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via trade, and Al Horford and Luke Kornet via free agency.

“I may have to coach completely differently than the year before,” Mazzulla told ESPN in October. “In years past, you had an older, more experienced roster, four or five All-Stars on the team together. So your process is different.”

Now, the process for Boston will be focused on getting Tatum back into the mix and back up to speed after nearly a year away from the court. It’s safe to assume he’ll start out on some sort of minutes limit as he works his way back, but Boston plays its next 12 games without any back-to-backs on the docket — the next one is March 29 and 30. That should allow him a chance to get some consistent reps on the court and gradually build himself up ahead of a playoff push in which the Celtics will once again be seen as a favorite to emerge from the Eastern Conference.