BOSTON - Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum showed us the highest levels of recovery from an Achilles rupture, posting clips of him running again, dunking again and smiling again. He was also transparent about the physical and mental impact of this lengthy rehabilitation process, whether it was discussing his internal doubts about whether or not he should return or showing the world how terrible his ankle looked after surgery.
What Jayson Tatum's foot looked like at the beginning vs. the end of episode 3 of "The Quiet Work": pic.twitter.com/le4zub0Eiw
- Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) 2 March 2026
That authenticity and vulnerability continued after Tatum's victorious homecoming at the TD Garden on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
"I was feeling really anxious," Tatum revealed after his first game in nearly 300 days. "It has taken a long time to get to this point. Many nights and days I dreamed about this moment and the anticipation of the crowd. It has been 42 and a half weeks since I played in an NBA game."
While the six-time All-Star could have played it cool, he gave real answers to the media and didn't deny his nervousness.
"[I'm] Just trying to get caught up in the pace and everything,” he said. “I felt like I was a step behind or moving too fast.”
To start the game, Tatum failed to make his first six attempts from the field. A few shots fell short and one miss came when the 28-year-old missed an open dunk that would have sent the home crowd into frenzy:
The TD Garden crowd nearly exploded after this dunk attempt by Jayson Tatum: pic.twitter.com/rir8iKFmwE
- Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) 7 March 2026
Clearly, Tatum still needs some time to get his feet under him (literally and figuratively). In addition to shooting, the Celtics forward moved the ball well and posted a game-high five assists in the first half. Generating those points for your teammates helped them get involved and, in turn, things started getting better.
"As soon as I relaxed a little bit, the game started to slow down," he said.
This isn't even an exaggeration, as Tatum made five consecutive shots after missing his first six. He even improved on his botched dunk by slamming home a missed triple from point guard Peyton Pritchard:
GO GET IT JT 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Tf8rLI6zcE
- Boston Celtics (@celtics) 7 March 2026
In a 120–100 win for the Celtics, Tatum finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists – just three assists short of a triple-double in his first NBA action since learning to walk again. And while he didn't have a spotless offensive night, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn't care.
"When he was 100% healthy, he had missed six shots in a row before, so I don't think it really mattered," he said. "What I liked is just his attitude and he continued to rebound. I thought he competed on the defensive end... I think he had three assists, two rebounds before he even took his first shot."
What Jayson Tatum's teammates and opponents thought about his comeback
Although Tatum is still not his usual self, the Celtics were happy to see him there, cheering him on from the bench and hugging him when he left the game.
"I appreciate him being able to put himself on the line a little bit to come back and be a part of something big," Celtics star Jaylen Brown said in the locker room. "I think that's his mentality. I appreciate it. I know the organization appreciates it because he didn't have to do it and nobody pressured him, but he wanted to be there."
If it was for tonight, what would be the start for Jayson Tatum: pic.twitter.com/GqPRgXupfz
- Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) 7 March 2026
Would Tatum like being 100% away from the field in his debut? Absolutely. But he understood why this was not realistic and stressed how fortunate he felt to be eligible for the green team again.
“When you take a long time off, you're anxious, you want it really bad,” he said. "And, obviously, I wanted to hit every shot I took. But I was just really grateful. I had a real feeling of gratitude to get back on the floor and play basketball again, and it brought me back to everything I've gone through over the last 10 months, and the fact that I was even able to get there today was a really big win for me."
The next phase of Tatum's recovery process, which isn't really over, takes place on the road. The Celtics have three games in a row against some of the best teams in the league: the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
To call this a litmus test would be taking it lightly. However, Tatum had already played 27 minutes against the Mavericks and despite his Achilles, he was not a kid at all.
This should be a good sign for the Celtics, and a bad sign for the rest of the NBA.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd praised him in his postgame press conference, "The pace he came back, the way he looked, coming off a serious injury, he looked good." “As soon as he shakes off some of the rust, he makes the Celtics a contender and they had a tough year when he was rehabbing, so to get him back, they're going to be a team that's going to be tough to knock out.”
