The Boston Celtics are currently preparing for the unofficial second half of the NBA season following the conclusion of the All-Star break. The Celtics are playing some excellent basketball, especially considering they have been without star Jayson Tatum this season as he recovers from a torn Achilles.
There has been much speculation in recent weeks that Tatum could return as soon as this season following one of the quickest Achilles recoveries the league has ever seen, which was further fueled when the league moved the upcoming Celtics home game against the Philadelphia 76ers to national TV without explanation.
Now, Tatum has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to mark a new milestone in his recovery process.
"40 weeks," Tatum wrote on the social media platform along with a prayer emoji. “I have really grown to appreciate this journey and have found time to pat myself on the back for doing well every day!”
Tatum suffered an Achilles injury last year during Game 4 of the semifinal series against the New York Knicks, which Boston lost in six games, already down 3–1 by the time Tatum was sidelined.
This year, Jaylen Brown is playing at a borderline MVP level for the Celtics, and Derrick White and Peyton Pritchard have overcome a bad start to the year to help provide some explosive scoring for the team.
Meanwhile, Boston executives recently made a winning move by sending Anfernee Simmons to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Nikola Vucevic at the NBA trade deadline, eliminating the team's biggest weakness in the process.
If Tatum is indeed able to come back this year, many will view the Celtics as the favorite to come out of the East in the spring.
Boston's season is scheduled to resume on Thursday with a road game against the Golden State Warriors.
