Jayson Tatum doing box jumps and dunking just five months after tearing his Achilles was a sight to behold. It raised some eyebrows, too, with even his doctor, who performed the surgery, getting stunned to see the videos of the Boston Celtics star.
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It’s not like Tatum’s rate of progress in the recovery from his Achilles tear is unprecedented. Some patients do heal quickly and can start doing physical activities like walking and low-intensity running as early as six months after surgery.
But his recovery has definitely been faster than most. Many believe that Tatum could return before the end of the upcoming season. In the videos, he looks determined to bounce back fast. According to his teammate Derrick White, the forward is desperate to get back on the court.
“It’s been a long time for him. He’s probably been counting down the days to get on the court,” White said on the White Noise Podcast.
Of course, White was vague as he didn’t want to confirm or deny anything. But he admitted that Tatum looked incredible in the videos and continues to impress every time he sees him around the Celtics facility. White went on to share some of the things Tatum has been doing and how quickly he’s been progressing.
“But, yeah, he’s always in there working. It’s kind of crazy, like, I don’t know anything about Achilles recovery rehab or where he should be, where he shouldn’t be,” White continued.
“I know he’s in there every day working, trying to get better, trying to get better, just enjoying the journey of getting back to it as much as he can enjoy it. I mean, you don’t get to the level that he got to without being a hard worker,” added White.
White is in awe of the way Tatum has been working his way back, trying to get back into the fold. “He’s kind of taken it to the rehab process now. And it’s been fun to see him and good to see him get back out there on the court and just start doing a little bit more and more,” he said.
There are a lot of factors that can affect the timeline of recovery from an injury like this. So far, Tatum has been fortunate and seems to be on the right track. Still, there’s a long road ahead before he’s back on the Celtics roster.
Given that the Celtics made a litany of moves to get under the NBA’s dreaded second apron and avoid penalties, the team is going to be cautious with Tatum’s recovery. There’s no need to rush him back since they’re entering a soft rebuild this season. So it’s unlikely we’ll see him play.
Still, the videos of him and the reports from White are encouraging. At the very least, Tatum appears to be well ahead of the usual recovery timeline. We’ll be keeping a close eye on him as the season progresses, providing updates.
