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By Megan Armstrong
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The Boston Celtics lost All-Star forward Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last May.
Remarkably, on March 6, Tatum returned to action just nine months later.
During Tatum's absence, 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown held the Celtics down. Brown made a 2026 NBA MVP case, posting career-highs in points per game (28.6), rebounds per game (7.0), and assists per game (5.2), and led Boston (50-25) to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
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As Brown wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, "50 wins in a gap year [shamrock emoji]," the Celtics vastly outperformed expectations and maintained contender status without Tatum.
With Tatum back in the fold, albeit still working back into form, alongside Brown, the Celtics pose a serious threat to win their second NBA title in three years.
But the Celtics experienced a scare last week when Brown missed his second straight game due to left Achilles tendonitis on Sunday.
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The good news is that Brown played in Boston's 112-102 loss in Atlanta on Monday, and Brown sounded optimistic when Noa Dalzell asked if he felt concerned about his Achilles after the game.
"Nah, everybody’s dealing with something — just some soreness," Brown said. "Definitely want to make sure you stay healthy as much as possible, and you don’t want to risk anything, but I think it’ll be fine going forward."
The Celtics have seven regular-season games remaining, but having already clinched a playoff berth, they'll likely approach the next two weeks cautiously to ensure they're as close to 100% as possible for a deep playoff run. The NBA playoffs begin on April 18.
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