Many thought the 2025-26 Boston Celtics were going to take this year as a “Gap Year.” The Celtics started this season without their 28- year- old star Jayson Tatum. Tatum tore his ACL back in game four of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks and many believed he was going to miss the entirety of the upcoming season. 

Tatum  worked on his knee everyday since surgery to be ready and help his team get back to where they were just two seasons before, which was on a duck boat through the city of Boston after winning the championship. Tatum made a surprise return, on Mar 6, 2026 against the Dallas Mavericks at the TD Garden.

 After 10 months of recovery, Tatum had 15, 12, and 7 in a game which led some to believe that the Celtics were right back where they left off just 10 months before.

The Celtics were forced this year to impress the league without their star player needing others to step up, such as star point guard Jaylen Brown who has been in the running for MVP this year with him averaging 28.2 points a game. Brown had been living in Tatum’s shadow since they drafted him back in 2017, Tatum had risen as the star player for the Celtics ever since he stepped foot on the parquet of the Garden. Brown’s challenge was to prove that

he could be the favorite in the Celtics organization. He was able to accomplish just that when he won finals MVP two years ago. Jaylen Brown then had a chance to really shine bright this year when Tatum was injured and he was  able to shine becoming the real favorite and averaging over 30 points a game during the middle of the season. Even without a key star player, the Celtics were able to prove they could adapt and still perform as a championship level team even without superstars, revealing just how powerful this team really is.

Looking at a couple of  weeks from now with playoffs fast approaching, the Celtics focus will now center on maintaining defensive intensity and staying healthy down the stretch. With the leadership between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Boston needs to focus on ball movement and holding leads late in the game and be able to execute and position themselves for a deep postseason run.