Jayson Tatum Returns To Practice In Another Major Step Forward In Achilles Rehab

Jayson Tatum’s rehab process is quickly taking its next steps.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported yesterday on the ABC broadcast that “Jayson Tatum has started controlled five-on-five scrimmaging with coaches.”

That fell in line with comments from Brad Stevens nearly two months ago, when he laid out the several weeks of progressions.

“Scripted against small groups, scripted against bigger groups, scripted in 5-on-5, unscripted random, all the way up through those,” he said. “It's a long progression … and then you're also reconditioning to play real minutes, whatever that looks like.”

The next step came quickly, with the Celtics announcing that Tatum would be assigned to the Maine Celtics for a practice at the Celtics practice facility.

In a press release, the Celtics said, “Tatum will be assigned to participate in portions of the Maine Celtics practice at the Auerbach Center this afternoon. Following this practice, Tatum will be immediately recalled to the Boston Celtics, where he will continue his rehab process.”

Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams were also assigned to participate in this practice. The Celtics provided no other updates.

This is a scenario I laid out in the latest Locked On Celtics podcast. It’s a common practice for teams with G League affiliates (or in this case, a team the Celtics also own) that are in close proximity.

Tatum is taking the next step I mentioned in the current Locked On Celtics podcast https://t.co/YKU6AM1Xpb pic.twitter.com/E1TUIyercF
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@John_Karalis) February 9, 2026

This is very likely a more scripted five-on-five scenario. It’s important to note that he participated in “portions” of the practice and not the entire practice. It’s a significant step forward for Tatum, who will put some of his full-speed work to the test against NBA-level players.

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton recently shed some light on how these workouts go. On the “Mind the Game” podcast, he talked about feeling good, but realizing he still had work to do, in a recent workout.

“I'm playing with these guys, and I feel so nice. I'm like, ‘Oh, I could play the NBA game right now.’ he said. “I'm guarding [Benedict Mathurin]. First play, he comes down, hesi, shoots a three, and they're like, ‘go at him.’ … I’m like, I'm fine. Attack me like normal, I got to see where I'm at.

“He hesi’ed me one time, he was at the rim, and I'm still at the three-point line. [laughs] I still got some time … understand it's gonna take some time, for sure.”

Tatum is probably in a similar spot, though his injury came a month earlier. It’s possible he’s a little further ahead than Haliburton, though people heal at different rates so it’s hard to say for sure.

Tatum did recently express some hesitance about coming back and disrupting what the current Celtics roster has done, but President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens put that to bed last week.

“The best for Jayson Tatum to come back is when he's 110% healthy, he's fully cleared by everybody that matters in that decision and he's got great piece of mind and he's ready to do it,” Stevens said. “That's it. That's the objective, and that's what we're going to stick with."

Whatever might be going through his mind, Tatum is still taking the steps to come back. According to Charania, part of the mental recovery is for Tatum to make absolutely sure he’s fully recovered.

“From my understanding, he wants to come back as close to ‘Jayson Tatum, as Jayson Tatum’ as possible,” Charania said. “Not a shell of himself, not a percentage of himself. And the other side of that is the Celtics medical staff will have to clear him 100% before he can return, and he himself will have to feel 100% confidence and trust in that leg before he makes a potential return this season.”