Report: There is ‘definitely buzz’ that Jayson Tatum could return in March

For the first time in a little while, the Boston Celtics aren’t heading into a new season with sky-high expectations. Star forward Jayson Tatum’s devastating Achilles injury is a huge part of why that is, as he’s spearheaded numerous deep playoff runs with Boston since joining the franchise.

But Tatum seems to be recovering from his injury at a promising pace. He isn’t even five months removed from going down with the injury, yet he recently uploaded a video of himself running and shooting on the court. Now, NBA insider Jake Fischer is reporting that there is “definitely buzz” that Tatum could make his return to the court in March.

Fischer spoke on the matter during a Bleacher Report live stream.

“What does this mean in terms of Jayson Tatum’s ultimate return?” he posed. “Well, there is definitely buzz that Tatum could potentially be back sometime in March.”

Fischer later noted that he thinks the context of the Celtics’ season will impact Tatum’s return. Boston is a hard team to gauge ahead of the campaign. While it has proven winning players with the likes of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and others, the team also lost a lot of members from the 2024 title team this offseason.

“I think that’s the ultimate detail here is that the context of Boston’s season will be very important for what ultimately is for Jayson Tatum’s return,” Fischer said.

Fischer also said he doesn’t think the Celtics will let Tatum play unless he’s at 100 percent.

The team’s circumstances should indeed be taken account when deciphering when Tatum should suit up for the Celtics once again. After all, if Boston looks lottery-bound by the time March rolls around and has little to play for, maybe it would be wise for him to play it safe and sit out the entire campaign.

Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a similar injury in the 2025 NBA Finals, and he’s already been ruled out for all of the 2025-26 season.

For the Celtics, it seems that possibilities ranging from a top-six finish in the East to missing out on the playoffs entirely are feasible depending on how formidable the conference ends up being, how the new faces fare and if Tatum plays at all.

Boston got a whole lot younger this offseason, with maybe its most notable addition being guard Anfernee Simons. The Celtics acquired Simons from the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade that sent defensive mastermind Jrue Holiday to Portland. Simons and other newcomers will look to provide the Celtics with some help while Tatum is sidelined.