Getty
Jayson Tatum, player of Boston Celtics looks on prior to the international friendly match between Brazil and France at Gillette Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum seems to have shaken off the cobwebs after his long and arduous recovery from an Achilles injury. During Sunday’s 114-99 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, the Boston Celtics forward looked like his pre-injury self, scoring 32 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing five rebounds while shooting 52% from the field.
After his season-best performance, Tatum was asked if this was “the best” he’s felt since returning from a 10-month absence from basketball activities.
“I mean, yeah,” Tatum responded with a big smile on his face.
“Obviously, I’m still working through it, but I say all the time, I just want to feel better than I did last game,” he added, via Celtics beat writer Bobby Krivitsky.
“[I] feel stronger, feel more confident, get my conditioning up,” he added.
Jayson Tatum Makes Celtics History
Tatum, who finished with eight assists and zero turnovers, made Boston Celtics history on several counts, according to Celtics statistician Sean Grande.
According to Grande, Tatum joined Larry Bird as the only player in Celtics hisotry to finish with a stat line of 32 points, five rebounds, eight assists and zero assists.
Furthermore, he became just the fourth player in NBA history to register stat stat line in less than 31 minutes, joining LeBron James (Dec. 2, 2010) Stephen Curry (Apr. 14, 2021) and Brandon Ingram (Feb. 5, 2024).
Celtics Praise Jayson Tatum
During Sunday’s season-high performance, Tatum also reached the milestone of 14,000 career points in the regular season. Per Real Sports App, the 28-year-old became the fifth youngest forward to reach the milestone, trailing only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was very impressed by Tatum’s showing.
“He did a good job just getting to the spot that he wanted,” Mazzulla said.
“Tonight only five rebounds so we got to get better at that. But I thought he did a great job on the offensive end.”
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
More Heavy on Celtics
Loading more stories