Jayson Tatum showed off the progress he’s made in his Achilles rehab during an extended workout Monday morning.
During the Celtics’ morning shootaround at a Detroit-area high school, Tatum spent close to an hour running through shooting, passing and dribbling drills in front of reporters, according to media members in attendance.
Here he is dunking a basketball pic.twitter.com/ASpkRvBjZH
— Souichi Terada | 寺田惣一 (@SouichiTerada) January 19, 2026
Tatum, who underwent Achilles surgery in May, has shared snippets of his comeback ramp-up on social media, and reporters have caught glimpses of his increased on-court activity after practices and shootarounds at the Auerbach Center. But most of his recovery has taken place behind closed doors.
Monday’s workout was the longest public look yet at the progress Tatum has made in the eight months since his right leg crumpled beneath him during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden. And the fact that he and the Celtics felt comfortable allowing reporters to watch it suggested he could be nearing a return to game action.
Neither Tatum nor the team has announced a target return date — president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has insisted he won’t be back until he’s “100% healthy” — but Tatum has made clear that he hopes to resume playing at some point this season. Shortly after his injury, Tatum’s father told ESPN’s Marc Spears he anticipated a recovery timeline of eight to nine months.
“Obviously, he’s itching to play,” Stevens said last month. “Obviously, he hates watching. But he’s also – I don’t want to speak for him – but very cognizant of the need to meet every threshold and why there are those things that are put in place. We’ve had a lot of great talks about it. One of the things that we love about this whole group, and I think the guys that have been here the longest lead the charge, is they love to play.”
Though he has yet to debut this season, Tatum has attended nearly every Celtics game, home and road. Teammate Derrick White said his progress has been “amazing to see.”
“You know he doesn’t want to watch,” White told reporters Monday, via CLNS Media. “He wants to get out there and play. But he’s been amazing just supporting every game. Just having him over there, it’s been a lot of fun. I have no idea exactly what the timeline is or how he’s doing, but it’s just good to see him moving around and just supporting us.”
