Jayson Tatum may not have been 100% during his return to action in 2026, but he sure fit back into the Boston Celtics’ lineup with ease.
The 2024 NBA champion suffered an Achilles injury during the 2025 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks. The injury sidelined him for the majority of the 2025-26 season, until the very end when he made his return. The Celtics went 13-3 with Tatum back in the lineup and ended the season with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
The 28-year-old may not have had the offensive burst that he normally has, but he fit into the Celtics' lineup like a glove. Tatum started showing more of an all-around game, averaging 21.8 points and a career-high 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
During the playoffs, he continued to show more of that all-around game, averaging a career-high 6.8 assists per game in the postseason. Unfortunately for Tatum, he missed Game 7 of their playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, a game in which Boston lost and was eliminated.
Tatum will enter the 2026-27 season fully healthy and ready to lead the Celtics back to the mountaintop. The six-time All-Star took the time to speak to Athlon Sports about a range of topics, including how he felt when he returned after being out for nearly a year, his objectives for next season, his thoughts on a crazy 2026 NBA Finals series and his new partnership with ONSIDE, a new collection of body care products being released at Target stores.
[Editor’s note: The following article has been lightly edited for readability.]
Athlon Sports: You're a game changer on the basketball court. I last spoke to you in February right before your return from the injury. You had a heck of a return. Talk about what that was like, returning from the Achilles injury. You adjusted your game a little bit, so talk about that adjustment overall.
Tatum: It was a lot. It was like 298 days removed from tearing my Achilles. Played the last like 15 games of the season, played in six playoff games, and I felt a little more confident, with every game. I was cleared, I was 100% healthy, but I hadn't played all season, and you have to get over the mental hurdle. What I would say is 80% of myself, what I was able to accomplish and produce on the floor game by game, gain some more confidence, throughout, and just kind of prove to myself.
When you have an injury like that, you got a lot of time to think and question and doubt yourself. I was proud that at 80% what I was able to do on the floor gave me the confidence that when October comes and I'm 18 months out, that I'll be back to the guy that I was.
Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Athlon: Yeah, you did a heck of a job, man. The Celtics were 13-3 after your return. I definitely noticed you were a little bit more of an all-around player, getting the teammates involved rather than just kind of scoring. Did you notice that yourself? It's like you said, you were kind of adjusting to that at 80% and so forth.
Tatum: It's just a combination of I wasn't all the way in shape yet. I was tired. I didn't necessarily trust myself as much as I did before I got hurt, and that just takes time and reps. My rhythm was a little off, just about making an impact and we obviously wanted to compete and try to win a championship. But just trying to make a positive impact and be an all-around player, just kind of get back in the flow of things.
Athlon: Did you feel that confidence and rhythm coming back? I know you missed Game 7 against the Sixers, but you played in the playoff games. Did you feel the confidence and rhythm coming back by the time the playoffs were going on?
Tatum: Oh, yeah, just game by game. I think it started to show when I first came back, I was playing 25 minutes, and then I got to 30, and then by the end of it, I was playing 40 minutes, which a lot of people were surprised by. That's what I ramped up for during rehab, and rehab was the toughest and hardest thing I ever had to do. I was just proud that I got myself to a position where I could go out there and still compete at a high level.
Even if I wasn't exactly who I was 10 months ago, but now that I have a full offseason where I'm not trying to learn how to walk again, where I can have a full recovery. I can't wait. I can't wait until October comes and I get to be out there at 110%.
Athlon: I can see the smile on your face, the optimism. You guys won the 2024 NBA Finals, and you got injured, obviously against the Knicks last year in the playoffs. You missed Game 7 against the Sixers. Does that kind of provide motivation for you, knowing you haven't had that full opportunity to defend the crown, so to speak, missing those games? Does that provide sort of a motivation heading into next season?
Tatum: No, I never looked at it as trying to defend a championship. We already won. Regardless, for the rest of my life, the 2024 Boston Celtics are champions. After that is just trying to win another one. So when I come back, or when the season starts, it's just about trying to have another parade here in June, and put up another banner.
Athlon: Obviously, you don't have to worry about the injury anymore. You're going to be back for the entire season next year. Are there certain objectives, concrete objectives that you have entering next season?
Tatum: Once the game is kind of taken away from you, you miss the little things. It was my first time — I had made the All-Star team six years in a row — so I think just not being a part of All-Star Weekend. Obviously, I knew I wasn't going to be there because I was injured, but it's just like, man, I miss that. I miss going through the season with my teammates, and I got to play in the playoffs a little bit. But I miss training camp, I miss playing back-to-backs, like I just missed all of it. I just want to be as healthy as possible, get back doing what I was doing, and trying to win another one.
Athlon: I got to ask you, this has been a heck of an NBA Finals. I know you're not involved in it, but I'm sure you've seen it, I'm sure you've heard of it. Thoughts on this NBA Finals with the Knicks and the Spurs? I'm sure you saw the 29-point comeback in Game 4.
Tatum: I mean, it's been incredible to watch, especially these last two games. It's just high-level basketball being played by two really, really good teams, two great coaches, and just some great basketball players on both sides that you can see, just kind of putting it all on the line every possession, trying to win, and it's just been fun to watch.
Athlon: What makes the Knicks so tough to beat? Because you matched up against them in the playoffs last year. What makes them so pesky?
Tatum: They've been playing together for awhile. Obviously, you need talent. They are talented. They got Brunson, they got KAT, Josh Hart, does a little bit of everything, and even if he's not scoring, OG is really good at basketball. You might not get all the credit because of KAT and Brunson, but he does whatever he can shoot, he can create his own shot, defend, and I think they just mesh well together. This is like their fourth year of playing with each other, so they're just kind of clicking.
Athlon: Tell me what you're doing with ONSIDE? Talk about these products.
Tatum: Couple things for me, skin care and grooming. It's very high on my priority list. My friends and people closest to me, they joke with me about how much I put into that, and how many showers I take a day, and just all those things. For one, it's just something that's really organic to me, and something I really care about. It was the first time that an opportunity like this was brought to me.
Entering that space for the first time, I was super excited about it just because I knew this is something I could really get behind, and that I wanted to have some input in, and just create a premium product that people want to use over and over again that makes them feel good about themselves, and that they could afford it.
Q: Sounds like you're pretty passionate about this, Jayson. I'll ask you, what is your long-term objective with ONSIDE? And if I were to put you on the spot, what's your favorite product?
Tatum: Favorite product right now, because at the moment we only have two scents: eucalyptus mint and santal leather, Santal leather, body wash and body cream I use every single day, unless I'm a little tired in the morning. I use eucalyptus mint to kind of wake myself up, because it's like a little fresher scent, so sometimes in the shower it wakes me up a little bit, and just try to create one of those game-changing products that is a staple of this era that impacts a lot of people around the world.
Q: I always enjoy talking to you, Jayson. Thank you for your time. Anything else that you want to get out there about ONSIDE?
Tatum: Go to Target, exclusively at Target right now, go get some ONSIDE.
