BOSTON — Jayson Tatum missed his first six shots to begin his long-awaited season debut against the Mavericks on Friday night. Coming back from a nearly 300-day absence triggered a slew of emotions for him, and those began hours before his long-awaited reception at TD Garden.
“I just felt really anxious,” Tatum admitted after Boston’s 120-110 win over the Mavericks. “It’s been a long time coming just to get to this point. Many nights and days, I dreamed about this moment and the anticipation, the crowd. It’s been forty-two and a half weeks since I last played in an NBA game, so I’m just trying to get caught up in the speed and everything. I just kind of felt like I was a step off or moving too fast. But the game started to slow down as I relaxed a little bit.”
Tatum’s mini slump wasn’t long-lasting. It intensified the eagerness that was already brewing amongst fans in attendance. Every shot attempt forced Celtics fans to withhold their cheers and applause, whether it was a mid-range jumper from 19 feet or a one-handed dunk attempt that nearly erupted TD Garden’s crowd. It was only a matter of time before Tatum found his footing, and without a concrete minutes restriction, time was on his side throughout the night.
In the second quarter, a missed 3-point attempt from Payton Pritchard unintentionally set Tatum up for a putback dunk to get him on the board for the first time in over nine months. That was all he needed.
From there, Tatum converted his next five shot attempts, two of which were corner 3-pointers over defensive contests from P.J. Washington. Tatum redeemed himself for his cold 0-for-6 start by finishing 6-for-16. He scored 15 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists, notching his first double-double of the season while playing 27 minutes in a successful first appearance back.
Most importantly, Tatum’s performance proved that coexisting with the readjusted Celtics offense isn’t a cause for concern.
“It was a surreal feeling, but then it felt normal,” Tatum said. “So that was really promising for me, not even when the game started. Just driving to the game, starting my routine, doing my pregame shooting. I knew it was a big moment, but everything just started to feel really normal again.”
Before the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla revealed there would be little to no restrictions applied to Tatum. He wasn’t coming off the bench, and his minutes weren’t being counted. For months, word on the street had been that unless Tatum was 100 percent ready, he wouldn’t be taking the court — and that proved true. Tatum returned with the intention of giving Boston everything and then some. Getting the starting nod was one thing, but logging 27 minutes was another.
Tatum went from surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon last May, to months of recovery, to weeks of ramping up enough to return to NBA action. Throughout that process, he watched the Celtics part ways with a handful of key contributors from the organization’s 2024 championship, only to fill their spots with less-experienced replacements who’ve risen to the occasion. Yet despite it all, Boston hasn’t missed a beat. The team responded to its adversity from the very start, going 41–21 without Tatum and securing a not-too-shabby No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference entering his return.
Getting to rejoin his teammates and contribute was something Tatum didn’t take for granted.
“I had a real sense of gratitude for just being back on the floor and playing basketball again,” Tatum said.
Tatum opened up about the reality of undergoing rehab and its long, grueling journey. While his teammates were practicing, playing, and improving together as the season progressed, Tatum was in the shadows fulfilling his obligations as a one-man crew. That wasn’t easy.
“Going through rehab and being injured is lonely — and it’s not intentional,” Tatum shared. “I couldn’t practice for a while. I couldn’t be in the game. When they were on the court, I was in the weight room, having to do my own thing. So you feel isolated in a sense. I just expressed that being around as much as possible — going to games, being on the plane — really made me feel like I was still very much a part of the team.”
Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 24 points in the win, while Derrick White pitched in with 20, followed by Pritchard’s 18 off the bench. Had Tatum converted on just half of his missed attempts, he would’ve finished with 20 points as well — further proving there’s no legitimate concern about his fit in the offense.
Even when he wasn’t scoring, Tatum found ways to impact the offense, and Mazzulla noticed that.
“What I liked was his approach,” Mazzulla said. “… I think he had two assists, three rebounds before he even took his first shot. So I think the playmaking, but also a steady balance of the things of the process of what we need to do to win, and I thought he attacked that well tonight.”
Tatum helped empower the offense — 48 hours after being held to 89 points in a loss to the Hornets — to the point where Mazzulla was able to pull him and the rest of the starters with five minutes remaining. With a 23-point lead in hand, Mazzulla unloaded the bench, embraced Tatum on the sidelines, and waited for the final seconds to wind down before the traditional “Gino Time” celebration played on the video board.
It wasn’t the first time Tatum had heard “Gino Time” play during a Celtics victory lap this season, but it was the first time he’d been part of it since last year. He credited everyone involved for helping the team reach such heights by the time of his return.
“Obviously, the team looks totally different than it did last year,” Tatum said. “But I can’t commend the group enough and the coaching staff for how they’ve attacked this season, how they’ve competed and played together every single night. I don’t know if there’s a team that’s been more fun to watch this season play as a unit.”
