Major update emerges on Jayson Tatum’s status

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.