It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas — or at least feel like Christmas.
Fans of the Boston Celtics get it. That certain buzz in the air like the one you felt as a kid in the final days before Santa’s big visit.
That’s the feeling in and around Boston right now as the Celtics, currently sitting pretty in second place in the Eastern Conference, await the return of their four-time All-NBA superstar.
The disrespect is over and the Celtics are now back in the national conversation. Think about it.
The national media all but wrote Boston’s 2025-26 season off after Jayson Tatum went down with a ruptured Achillies in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinal. Of course, parting ways with the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford, staples of the Celtics’ 2024 championship run, didn’t help either.
But that was the media, and within the organization, expectations never changed. Despite continuous snubs — the Celtics had played in nationally televised Christmas Day games for 10 straight years before that streak ended this season — all Boston has done is win.
Jaylen Brown, who’s been snubbed in his own right this year with multiple Player of the Month award pass-overs, has forced his way into the MVP conversation behind his stellar play. Fresh off his first start in an NBA All-Star Game, Brown’s 29 points per game are the fourth most in the league, helping lift his team to an unlikely (or likely depending on your view) 41-20 record.
Payton Pritchard, after starting the majority of the team’s games over the first half of the season, has shined in his new role off the bench. Looking every bit the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year, the 28-year-old is averaging 17 points per game and a 44.8% three-point percentage in Boston’s last 10 games.
The Celtics have benefited from continued consistent play from veterans Derrick White and Sam Hauser, with newcomers like Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzales and Neemias Queta also quickly establishing themselves as fan favorites. And if that’s not enough, Boston’s trade-deadline acquisition — former Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic — has given the Celtics key added depth in the five spot, and has seemingly jelled flawlessly with his new teammates.
Now imagine adding Tatum back into the fold. A six-time NBA All-Star who’s led the Celtics in scoring in each of the last five seasons.
The national media will tell you it’s dangerous — that Tatum shouldn’t rush his return and just wait until next year. Or that adding Tatum to the rotation will only mess with the chemistry of a team that’s clearly got a good thing going.
What those takes don’t take into account is that making his return this season, in front of the Boston faithful at the TD Garden, has been his “why” through months of grueling rehabilitation. Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens isn’t about to waist a second of Tatum’s tenure in a Boston uniform — let alone a full season — and so an open dialogue with his superstar, and a mutual trust that there would be an elite team waiting for him upon his return were essential.
Whether the national media likes it or not, that time has come. And with Jayson Tatum back on the court for the Celtics, the expectations — though unchanged — should be clear. Championship or bust.
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