'More Relaxed' Jayson Tatum Gets More Minutes vs. Wizards But Process Remains 'Tough'

BOSTON — Joe Mazzulla made four substitutions in the third quarter of Boston’s 11-point win over the Washington Wizards. None of them were for Jayson Tatum.

“[Playing] the full quarter wasn't part of the plan,” Tatum told reporters after the game. “I knew that my minutes would go up a little bit this week, and that's just kind of the progression.”

That Tatum is already progressing to 30-plus minutes per game is nothing short of amazing. Everybody’s rehab from a major injury is different, and we clearly didn’t know how far along he was getting in practices, but to get to a comfortable 32-minute performance in his fourth game back is incredible. And he mostly looks like himself out there.

“[He’s] reading 2-on-1s, executing defensively, rebounding, understanding personnel, who he's guarding, competing,” Joe Mazzulla said. “[He’s] continuing to get in shape. But right now, the most important thing is just giving the game what it needs on both ends of the floor, and he's doing a good job of that.”

Tatum played about 27 minutes in his first three games back, though the distribution has evolved over that time. Tatum says his body has been responding well to each step and he’s been feeling good the day after. So he’s making good progress.

“Compared to the first game, I feel a lot more relaxed,” Tatum said. “I'm finding more and more moments each game where I'm feeling more confident, more explosive. Whether it's driving a close out or reacting or something, it's just more and more moments each game where I find plays where maybe it's not like a big play people would notice, but something that I noticed, or like, I heard that gave me confidence.”

Tatum singled out the play he made against Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio, when he pump-faked, drove, and finished after jumping off his right leg.

Made TWO defenders miss 👀 pic.twitter.com/678SzdI2zR
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 11, 2026

Getting shoved by Wembanyama after the play was part of the fun for Tatum.

“Getting knocked on your ass and falling is part of being in the NBA,” Tatum said. “When he pushed me, it knocked me off balance. But I laid there for a second and I was like, ‘All right, now I’m fine.’ It’s just moments like that where it’s been a while since something like that has happened. So it is a good feeling of, like, ‘all right, I’m back.’”

Tatum has had a lot of help along the way to get to this point. He has specifically given credit to his trainer and physical therapist, Nick Sang, for pushing him through the most difficult parts of his rehab. And after the win over Washington, Tatum also gave credit to Celtics assistant coach Tony Dobbins, who worked with Tatum throughout the process.

“He’s been in the trenches with me every single day, essentially, since I was able to start 15-minute workouts on the court,” Tatum said. “We have a great relationship since I've been here with the Celtics, but this is our first year really being hands on and working with each other. So I can’t thank him enough for his selflessness and just really being engaged with me every single day. Even when we didn’t know if I was coming back this year, he still approached every single day as if I was a super important part of this team. So that was really helpful for me.”

Tatum’s return is progressing faster than most people expected, but it’s still a work in progress. This step against Washington is an amazing step, but it’s still one step of many.

“I obviously understand the bigger picture and the plan,” Tatum said. “Sticking with the plan in the moment is kind of tough, obviously I want to be out there as much as possible. But today I got to play more than the first three games, so I’ll take that.”