For Jayson Tatum, Thursday was much more than just basketball

NEW YORK CITY — Jayson Tatum made the choice to not bite his tongue a long time ago.

At the Celtics’ shootaround on Thursday morning, when he was asked about the emotions of playing at Madison Square Garden for the very first time since his injury, the Celtics star opted to be completely candid.

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“Nervousness, anxiousness,” he said. “All the things you’d probably expect.”

On paper, Thursday’s game was just another regular season game between two Eastern Conference foes. Entering the match-up, the Celtics had won four straight games, and held a three-game lead over the New York Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference.

But, in reality, Thursday night held extra weight, marking a return to the place where Tatum’s long, lonely rehab journey began. Inside the walls of MSG was a moment in time in which everything changed: the night Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon almost eleven months ago.

“The lowest point of my life was here,” Tatum said.

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Tatum remembers hearing a pop. He remembers his career — and the Celtics’ future — flashing before his eyes. And, he remembers thinking that it all could be over, that he might never be the same again.

“One day I felt like Superman, and then the next day I felt like the smallest man on Earth,” Tatum said on the Pivot Podcast in January. “It’s been a struggle.”

Since that fateful day, Tatum has cleared plenty of milestones. He returned to 5-on-5 action in January, and practiced with the Maine Celtics for the first time in February. He made his national stage, NBA debut on March 6th, and was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week just a few weeks after that.

To an observer, it appeared Tatum’s greatest challenges were in the rearview mirror. He was not only back, but he was playing some elite basketball.

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Still, another major hurdle loomed: a return to Madison Square Garden. While he could have delayed that eventual emotional confrontation, he didn’t want to kick the can down the road and opted to lace up while his co-star, Jaylen Brown, sat.

Earlier in the week, Brown admitted he hadn’t…

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Publish date : 2026-04-10 09:21:00

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