Kevin O’Connor Predicts How And When Celtics Will Announce Jayson Tatum Return
The Boston Celtics have surprised a ton of fans by their success in 2025-26 without Jayson Tatum, but everyone’s still thinking about the glory of a potential Tatum return this season.
If anything, Boston’s winning (19-12 entering Monday, third in the Eastern Conference) has made fans even more eager for a Tatum return, provided, of course, that he’s 110 percent healthy and ready to go once he does step back out onto the parquet at TD Garden.
Analysts and fans alike can’t stop talking about what a Tatum return would look like, and when it might happen. JT has been teasing his return with constant workout footage, most recently some clips that included Brad Stevens participating in drills with Tatum.
One of the most trusted NBA podcasters in the biz, Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor, talked about the Celtics on Monday during a new episode of The Kevin O’Connor Show. In conversation with guest Dave DuFour of The Athletic (who asserted that the Celtics can make the NBA Finals even without Tatum), O’Connor made a prediction about how and when the Celtics might announce Tatum’s return later in the season.
“A team like the Celtics, they don’t have many leaks (to the press), O’Connor said. “There’s a chance someday they drop their injury report out of nowhere and instead of it saying “out” for Jayson Tatum, it says ‘doubtful,’ or it says ‘questionable.’ And people are going to go nuts. But that’s how the news is going to come out.”
“You’re going to see the Shams Charania post where he just says, ‘Jayson Tatum is listed as questionable for tonight’s game,’” O’Connor continued. “That’s how people are going to find out about it. That’s my prediction. Maybe in the middle of March.”
Tatum entered the NBA as the third overall pick by the Celtics in the 2017 draft after a standout freshman year at Duke. As a rookie, he earned All-Rookie First Team honors, averaging 13.9 points and helping the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
His production grew steadily, leading to six consecutive All-Star selections from 2020 to 2025, including starter nods since 2023. In 2023, he claimed All-Star Game MVP with a record 55 points. Tatum secured All-NBA Third Team in 2020 and First Team from 2022 to 2025.
Tatum guided the Celtics to the 2022 Finals, earning Eastern Conference Finals MVP, though they fell to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Triumph came in 2024, when Tatum led Boston to an NBA championship over the Dallas Mavericks. He also won Olympic gold in 2020 and 2024.
The 2024-25 season saw him post 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists over 72 games.