Jayson Tatum reportedly plans to play this season, posts video of him dunking
"The Celtics haven't ruled out Jayson Tatum for the season and they're cautiously optimistic."
The latest on Jayson Tatum’s Achilles rehab: Jayson Tatum continues to share encouraging updates on his Achilles, and he’s bullish about his chances of playing in the 2025-26 season.
Tatum has told the Celtics that he plans to play in this upcoming season, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday.
“The Celtics haven’t ruled out Jayson Tatum for the season and they’re cautiously optimistic,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “He has a goal in mind that he wants to play this season, and we’ll see if he gets there.
“Now, whether he can get there by the time we’re in February, March, April — we’ll see. And we’ll see how this team’s going to be. There’s so many doctors’ clearances that come into play here as you get close to the end.”
The report has been consistent with what Tatum has said over the last month. In September, Tatum said on “TODAY with Jenna & Friends” that he hasn’t ruled himself out from playing in 2025-26.
“I think for me, and my team, the doctor, the organization, the most important thing is making a full recovery,” Tatum said. “Being back 100 percent, not rushing it. But, I haven’t said, like, ‘Yo, I’m not playing this season’ or anything like that.”
As the Celtics began training camp and preseason play over the last couple of weeks, Tatum has also posted updates on where he’s at in his recovery on social media. In his latest update, Tatum posted a video of himself dunking a basketball on Thursday. Tatum made a straight vertical leap in the video instead of getting a running start.
While Tatum has continued to post positive updates less than five months after tearing his Achilles, the Celtics have publicly kept their timeline for their top star’s return close to the vest.
“I’ve said this from Day 1, and I’ll continue to say it: no timelines on Jayson from my perspective,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told reporters in September. “My No. 1 goal, my No. 2 goal, 3 goal, 4 goal is Jayson Tatum fully healthy, full recovery. And he’s well on his way. He has been incredibly diligent. He has been a great leader by example to people in this building when no players were around in the middle of the summer and when a lot of the young guys have been around in the last month-and-a-half.”
One thing that could show that the Celtics are optimistic that Tatum could return this season is that they haven’t applied for a hardship waiver on him yet. Teams can only apply for the waiver, which gives teams a salary exception, if a player is expected to miss the remainder of the season. The Pacers, for instance, applied for a hardship waiver on Tyrese Haliburton over the offseason after he tore his Achilles.
Still, the Celtics will likely be without Tatum for most of the 2025-26 season. The Celtics begin regular-season play on Oct. 22 when they host the 76ers.
Trivia:
The Celtics took Jayson Tatum with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Who are the two other players from that draft class on the Celtics’ roster?
(Hint: One of the players was acquired this offseason.)
Scores and schedule:
The Bruins are perfect through the first two games of the season. They took down the Blackhawks, 4-3, in overtime, with Fraser Minten’s goal serving as the game-winner. The Bruins are back in action again on Saturday when they host the Sabres at 7 p.m.
The Celtics will continue preseason play on Friday when they take on the Raptors in Toronto at 7 p.m.
Boston College football will look to get off the schneid again on Saturday. It hosts Clemson amid a four-game losing streak. Kickoff for that game is set for 7:30 p.m.
Fresh off their best win in at least a couple ofseasons, the Patriots will look to move their winning streak to three when they take on the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday. Kickoff for that game is at 1 p.m.
Read more from Boston.com:
- Fraser Minten scores in overtime to lift the Bruins past the Blackhawks, 4-3
- ‘He’s on a plan’: Christian Gonzalez pops up on Patriots’ injury report after being limited at practice
- Ty Law wants Patriots to trade for this All-Pro talent
- Is the Drake Maye hype enough to keep Josh McDaniels with the Patriots for good?
- Red Sox Hall of Famer Mike Greenwell dies at 62 after battling cancer
- What Louisiana native Will Campbell said about returning to the Superdome
- David Andrews credits Drake Maye as one of reasons why he wanted to keep playing
- After an embarrassing loss to Pittsburgh, will BC be able to rebound against a traditional national power in Clemson?
Phillies get eliminated in brutal fashion
All Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering needed to do was throw a ground ball to first base to help Philadelphia move Thursday’s Game 4 of the NLDS to the 12th inning. Instead, with the Dodgers loading the bases with two outs in the 11th inning in a 1-1 game, Kerkering decided to throw Andy Pages’s groundball to home plate, but his throw was way off the mark and late, allowing the Dodgers to score the series-winning run.
Drake Maye’s nickname for Will Campbell
The Patriots’ young quarterback and offensive tackle have formed a close bond in their first few months as teammates together, so much so that Maye at least has his own nickname for Campbell. When the Patriots rookie spoke with reporters on Thursday, Maye was heard yelling in the background, “Big Country!”
“No, that’s just Drake,” Campbell said when asked if his teammates call him “Big Country.”
Daily highlight
Thunder guard Cason Wallace hit a shot that would’ve won him any game of HORSE against the Hornets on Thursday. Gathering an offensive rebound as the shot clock was set to expire, Wallace somehow made a bucket from beneath the backboard.
On this day
Twenty-six years ago on Friday, the Red Sox were able to fend off elimination in Game 4 of the 1999 ALDS when they defeated Cleveland, 23-7. Boston’s 16-run victory was the largest in MLB history at the time, logging 24 hits. Red Sox third baseman John Valentin hit two home runs that night as well.
A day later, the Red Sox were able to complete their 2-0 series comeback and win Game 5 behind a memorable bullpen performance from Pedro Martinez.
Trivia answer: Derrick White and Chris Boucher
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