Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been sidelined since May 2025 after rupturing his Achilles tendon during the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks. His tenure outside of TD Garden may finally be coming to an end on Friday.
According to reports from Shams Charania, the All-NBA forward is expected to make his 2025-26 season debut on Friday at home against the Dallas Mavericks. He has been a full participant in 5-on-5 practices and is currently listed as “ready to go,” pending a final decision on Friday morning.
The Celtics have managed an impressive 41-21 record in his absence, despite many NBA fans essentially counting them out for the 2025-26 season. Tatum’s return will come just in time for a final regular-season ramp-up before the playoffs.
The rest of the Celtics squad has been playing well despite Tatum’s absence. Jaylen Brown has averaged career bests in points, assists, and rebounds. Guard Derrick White has been averaging career highs in points, assists, steals, and blocks per game. Payton Pritchard, who has been playing on average more than 32 minutes per game, is having the best season of his career, averaging nearly 17 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Here is everything you need to know about Tatum’s availability for Boston.
Is Jayson Tatum playing tonight?
There has not been a definitive announcement yet on whether Tatum will suit up Friday night against the Mavericks at TD Garden, but Tatum has been “fully cleared to make his season debut,” according to Shams Charania.
Tatum has missed a total of 64 games for the Celtics since rupturing his Achilles tendon last May. This streak is expected to come to an end Friday night. Tatum’s usage against the Mavericks and the future still remains unclear, but fans can assume his minutes will be limited to start his return.
Jayson Tatum injury update
According to Charania, the Celtics’ star is expected to make his 2025-26 season debut on Friday at home against the Dallas Mavericks. If Tatum is unable to play in Friday’s game, Boston plays in Cleveland on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
BREAKING: Boston Celtics All-NBA star Jayson Tatum will play this season and could make his debut on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks – less than 10 months after surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. pic.twitter.com/2TCWXuXQK1
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2026
Tatum’s return is expected to come less than 10 months after rupturing his Achilles tendon against the Knicks in May’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, where the Celtics lost in six games.
Jayson Tatum career stats
In his 8-year career, in which he has started every game he has played (585 regular-season games), Tatum has steadily improved in virtually every statistic. Here are his averages per season:
| Year | Points | Assists | Rebounds | Steals | Blocks | FG% |
| 2017-18 | 13.9 | 1.6 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 47.5 |
| 2018-19 | 15.7 | 2.1 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 45.0 |
| 2019-20 | 23.4 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 45.0 |
| 2020-21 | 26.4 | 4.3 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 45.9 |
| 2021-22 | 26.9 | 4.4 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 45.3 |
| 2022-23 | 30.1 | 4.6 | 8.8 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 46.6 |
| 2023-24 | 26.9 | 4.9 | 8.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 47.1 |
| 2024-25 | 26.8 | 6.0 | 8.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 45.2 |
