Boston Celtics
As Tatum gets closer to a return, he says being a role player is not on his mind.
Jayson Tatum AP Photo/David Zalubowski
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As Jayson Tatum nears his return to the Celtics lineup, there has been speculation about what his role might be.
Would the team ease him into a lighter workload over the last few weeks of the regular season? How will things look as he rejoins a team that already has the fourth-best record in the NBA without him? Could we see him coming off the bench at times?
The Celtics have been clear that they aren’t expecting Tatum to come back until he feels ready. During a recent episode of his mini-documentary series “The Quiet Work,” Tatum said that he isn’t planning to settle on being a role player when he returns.
During episode three of the series, Tatum is shown in a doctors office 43 weeks after having surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles’ tendon. Dr. Martin O’Malley tells Tatum that his calf looks “fantastic” and that he’s confident Tatum will be able to return to his old form within a matter of weeks.
The camera panned to Tatum, who offered a short response.
“I ain’t coming back to be no role player, doc,” Tatum said, before shaking the doctor’s hand.
Tatum has started all 585 of his career NBA games. He started 80 games when he was a rookie, and he started 72 games last year during the regular season before the injury happened in the playoffs.
He is a six-time All-Star, a four-time first-team All-NBA selection, and the only Celtic to average 30 points for an entire season. He is anything but a role player.
But, the Celtics will have to figure out how he fits into a team that is already rolling as currently constructed. Jaylen Brown is having a career year, the Celtics have developed several young wings who have filled in nicely, and the team has won 12 of its last 14 games.
The work that Tatum has put in during this rehab process has put him in position to return if he so chooses. He has reportedly been cleared for 5-on-5 action at practice, and he’s more than nine months into his rehab stint.
Early on, though, he had doubts about whether or not he would be able to pull such a comeback off.
“The days after the surgery, I really had some tough moments of like, I really thought it was over,” Tatum said. “Those first couple of days, it was like I couldn’t move. I needed help scooting up the steps, I needed help with just everything. I had never been in that position before.”
There are six weeks left in the regular season before the playoffs start. Neither Tatum nor the Celtics have said when Tatum will come back.
If, and when he does, it seems like being a role player isn’t part of the plan.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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