There Is A Storm Brewing In The NBA As The Signs Of A Potential Jayson Tatum Return Are Getting Harder To Ignore

Nic Antaya. Getty Images.

As we now enter the stretch run of the 2025-26 season, there is currently a storm brewing in the NBA. You may not want to accept it. You may try to deny it. You may try to downplay its significance.

But make no mistake, a storm is coming

The 2025-26 Celtics, as things stand today, are one of if not the biggest surprises in the entire NBA. Sorry if that offends, but that's just the reality of the situation. We're nearly 60 games into the season, and they are among the best teams in the NBA. Top 2 seed, top 3 point differential, top 2 offense, top 10 defense, top 3 net rating, top 2 in fewest points allowed, the list goes on and on. 

And while there have been many awesome developments that have put the Celts in this position as a team with a profile of a legit title contender, the beauty of this team specifically is the fact that this whole time, they've had an ace in the hole. They have something no other team in the league (especially the contenders) can say when it comes to their current season. 

The Celtics have the ability to insert one of the best basketball players on planet Earth into a team that already fits the mold of a championship contender. A perennial 1st Team All NBA/Top 5 MVP player.  A Champion. The type of talent that completely shifts the dynamic of not just the Eastern Conference, but the entire NBA.

All year long, most rational Celtics fans have been on the same page when it comes to Jayson Tatum and a potential return. 

Whatever he wants to do, that's cool. 

If that's finding a way to return? Awesome. If that's sitting out and waiting until next season? Also cool. It's his life and his career, who are we to tell him what's best? If he's ready, he's ready. If he's not, he's not. Both options are fine.

As we sit here on February 121st? It's getting harder and harder to resist the urge to completely let your brain commit to the possibility of Tatum actually playing. The signs are everywhere.

The news that Tatum was practicing in Maine, and Ron Harper Jr letting it slip that he looked like himself

The announcement of his docuseries following his recovery journey

Shams then going on TV and saying that Tatum has been playing 5-on-5 for weeks

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It's becoming harder and harder to block it all out. I've always tried to look at this whole thing and force my brain not to even entertain the idea. Just wait it out until we get a final decision/announcement. But listen, I am just a man. I'm human. With each passing day and each new update, I feel myself becoming weaker and weaker. My brain is going places that it probably shouldn't, but god damn does it feel incredible to go there. 

Which brings us to today. It's one thing for Tatum to put out a documentary and Shams to be putting out nuggets of info. 

It's another thing when the Boston Celtics are the ones doing it.

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We can learn a few things from these photos. First, can we just all take a second and look at that Luka Garza/Tatum picture? Please look at Tatum's right leg/foot. That's a player putting full pressure on that achilles in live action. Hell yeah. That not only makes me happy for Tatum, it also makes me feel like the mental aspect of his return is in a good spot. Remember how that went with Gordon Hayward? It's going to take time for Tatum to truly trust himself and his body. That's normal. All we can do is hope for the best, and to me that picture alone tells us we're off to a great start.

If you also look at the shot clock, that tells us this was probably some sort of simulated game, which I feel like you're only participating in if you're getting closer and closer to a return. Is that my delusion speaking? Probably. But at the same time….

This post by the Celts would have been more than enough for me to fully dive in, but there's more

If Adam Himmelsbach is telling me it feels notable to him, that means 10000000000x more to me than any Shams report. As a rule, you wait for Himmelsbach. If you want to know what's actually going on with this team, he's the guy.

I'm sorry, but this all cannot be a coincidence. I don't care if this is how we all look right now

Giphy Images.

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I cannot shake the feeling that where there's smoke, there's fire. When will this potential return be? Who the fuck knows. But nothing we're seeing these last few weeks suggests that it's not happening. That's the most important part. We are trending towards a certain direction, and I think we are all in agreement which way that is.

So let's think about what that means. Obviously, coming back from a major injury like this, we have no idea how Tatum will look. But here's what I do know. If Tatum is able to be just 70% of the player we just saw, that's still an All NBA player. What his skillset and impact will bring to the Celts, even if it's only for 20 minutes a night, is so monumental I don't even know how to explain it.

Think of how good this team has already been this season. Now, think about what it looks like if they swap 20 minutes from someone like Baylor Scheierman with 20 minutes of Jayson Tatum? 

PRETTY BIG DEAL

And that's if he's only 70% of what he was last season. So when I say a storm is brewing, this is what I mean. Adding any version of Tatum is like injecting this team with super serum. Close your eyes and think of literally any aspect of the game of basketball and how that works within a team. Every single one gets better when you add Jayson Tatum. Every one. The things the Celts are good at this year? Those are going to get even better. The areas they struggle in? Those problems get addressed. 

I'm just saying, buckle up. What seemed like a pipedream back in October is now looking more and more like it's about to become our reality. 

#SOON