Celtics CEO Wyc Grousbeck Gives Refreshing Take On Jayson Tatum’s Return
There’s been a ton of buzz lately about Jayson Tatum potentially defying the medical odds and returning to the court for the Boston Celtics at some point during the 2025-26 season. Tatum himself started this firestorm of speculation when he suggested in multiple interviews in September that he was aiming to return this season.
Videos of Tatum working out (dunking, even) have only contributed more optimism to the growing discourse.
Despite it all, the Celtics haven’t released any statement about Tatum’s potential availability down the line. Celtics president Rich Gotham, along with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, have both been adamant in interviews that the Celtics are putting zero pressure and zero expectations on Tatum to return this season, or at any specific date, for that matter. There is no timeline, and Tatum’s full recovery is what matters. That’s the organizational stance on the matter (and a healthy stance, at that).
Celtics CEO Wyc Grousbeck reiterated that stance this week while appearing as a guest on The Greg Hill Show.
“We’re not going to ever ask him to come back,” Grousbeck said. “We’re assuming he’s not coming back, and we’re not even going to have any discussions about it. At some point, he’s going to be ready to come back. Whenever that is, we’ll get five doctors’ opinions, we’ll ask him how he feels, and then we’ll all decide jointly — let’s do this, whatever month that is, whenever that is. But there are no discussions in the meantime. He’s expected to not be here this season.”
Grousbeck’s comments were a brilliant show of support for Tatum and smart PR for the franchise. By working against the narrative that Tatum can return in 2025-26, the Celtics’ leadership can help diminish the possibility that JT experiences any exterior pressure to come back too early, which could be disastrous.
Sure, Tatum is putting a lot of pressure on himself to come back, and he might not be influenced much at all by the outside noise, but in a world increasingly convinced of his imminent return, the Celtics are wise to keep that narrative at bay as much as they can.
Despite Boston now being under new ownership, Grousbeck is still highly involved with the franchise, serving as alternate governor and CEO, and the Celtics are certainly better for it.