May 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

One Jayson Tatum Condition Could Shift Eastern Conference

Originally posted on Fastbreak on SI | By Justin Grasso | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 7:58 PM ET

Jayson Tatum’s injury recovery has generated a ton of buzz around the NBA lately.

Although the other NBA stars with Achilles injuries are planning for a year off in 2025-2026, Tatum won’t confirm that will be the case for him. He has a target date in mind—he won’t reveal the day—and he won’t say that he’s sitting out for the 2025-2026 season.

As a result, there’s been speculation that he could be back much sooner than anybody expected.

“There’s definitely buzz that Tatum could potentially be back sometime in March,” said NBA Insider Jake Fischer. “The context of Boston’s season will be very important for what, ultimately, is for Jayson Tatum’s return.”

The Celtics Need to Have a Chance

Nobody can make any sure predictions for the 2025-2026 Celtics because they’ve gone through some major changes since the summer.

Kristaps Porzingis was traded away to the Atlanta Hawks. Jrue Holiday was moved to the Portland Trail Blazers. Al Horford packed up and signed with the Golden State Warriors. Jayson Tatum is going to miss a large chunk of time for the first time in his career.

Now, the NBA will see how far the likes of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Anfernee Simons can take the Celtics. If they are at least on the brink of contention, it seems there might be a slight chance that they could get a boost deep into the year.

“I don't think anyone in Boston views this current Celtics roster without Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford as a team that is going to be competing with the likes of Cleveland and New York, and even if healthy, comparing it to Philadelphia's roster, I don't think that Boston really does consider themselves a championship contender this season at all,” Fischer later added. “There’s still a belief that Boston could be competitive enough to warrant a Jayson Tatum early return. I don’t think so, but this is still a market development.”

The 2024-2025 Celtics finished the year as the Eastern Conference’s second seed with a 61-21 record. With core players still in the mix, Boston should be strong enough to fight for a spot in the postseason. Since the Eastern Conference is considered to be open this season, an early Tatum return might be intriguing if the star forward is truly healthy enough to play.

But it’s too early to make that call. Tatum and the Celtics’ medical team still have plenty of work to do before they can make such a major decision on his eventual return to action.