Jayson Tatum's First On Court Workout Footage Finally Dropped And He Already Looks Absolutely Incredible

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

With Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton all tearing their achilles during the playoffs, it's obviously been a long offseason for each of those fanbases. The Celts dismantled their team, the Pacers lost pieces and are not heading into a weird limbo season, and Dame went back home to Portland. That's great for Blazers fans, but tough for Dame fans everywhere since I think it's fair to suggest we won't see him play this season.

We already know Haliburton is out, with the Pacers wasting not time ruling him out for the year. Yet, as we navigated the offseason, I found myself to be somewhat jealous of those fanbases. In such a time of uncertainty and nervousness, those guys had put out footage of their rehab/recovery to help provide a sense of hope

It may not have been much, but it was something. When you're going through this type of injury to your franchise player, as a fan you're really just looking for anything positive to hang your hat on and convince yourself that things are going to be OK. Just seeing those guys get shots up so soon after their injury was awesome.

But for us, we had nothing when it came to Jayson Tatum. No FTs standing still, no dribbling, no pool work, nothing. All we could do as a fanbase is slow the clips down frame by frame when he would be walking around at a Pats game or something. We'd all be looking at his gait and diagnosing shit like we were Doogie Howser, M.D. It was all we had to work with so you made the best of it. 

All I wanted to see was actual basketball footage. I wasn't picky, I'd take anything. Even the smallest bit of footage, as a treat. We all see how he's moving, we all saw the press tour from the other day where he wouldn't close the door on playing this season. But even still, there was no footage.

Until now.

Oh. My. God.

I need a minute. No, scratch that. I need several minutes. 

By the time you read this blog, it's hard to know what the current view count will be for me watching that footage. 10,000 views? 100,000 views? It's hard to say really.

In reality, I'm not sure what I expected of the first Tatum workout footage. The second he let it slip in his press tour that he had gotten on the court for the first time, we all knew what that meant. We knew it was going to be hitting out timelines eventually, and finally, after months and months and months of waiting, that day has finally arrived.

No matter how many times I watch this thing, I cannot believe what my eyes are seeing. Look at how he's moving!!!!!!!!

May 12th was 138 days ago. I'm not a doctor, but is that how everyone moves 138 days after achilles surgery? I'm thinking no. I guess all those reports about how he's recovering better than any medical professional has ever seen before were legit, because holy shit

The fact that this wasn't AI and this is actually what Tatum looks like at this stage of his recovery has to be the best case scenario right? What could possibly be even better about a recovery than what we just watched so quickly after his surgery? Again, I had no idea what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this.

Which naturally leads everyone to the same question. When is he coming back? You see a video like that, and your brain is going to some fucking WILD places. There's no stopping it, so just let it happen. Christmas? March? Who knows!

Personally, I'm trying to hold off as long as I possibly can. I see a video like that and my initial thought is reassurance that when he does come back, he'll be the Tatum we know and love. I've been trying my hardest to take all the updates, everything from this press tour, and now this video as things to make me feel better about his level of play in 2026-27 than something to view as a sign of a potential return at some point this season. It's a constant battle between my heart and my brain that will most likely go on every single minute of every single day until Tatum's return, but whether you think this is great for 2025-26 or 2026-27, the overall point is Jayson Tatum looks absolutely fucking incredible 138 days after his injury. This is all a journey of small wins and milestones, so I'm taking it.

Perhaps there really was something to getting the surgery IMMEDIATELY that will prove to be a difference maker. We already knew Tatum healed like Superman, the guy would have a high ankle sprain because he landed on a foot due to a bad closeout since the NBA refuses to protect him and lets everyone under the sun slide their foot into his landing space, and he'd magically recover in like 3 days. We knew he was a cyborg. But even knowing that, I'm not sure anyone could have predicted how he looked in that video. 

If you can't tell by now, this footage has me a bit shook, but in all the good ways. Let's be honest, ever since May 12th, 2025, it's been an absolutely disastrous run. Celts choked to a Knicks team that stinks, they dismantled one of the greatest rosters in NBA history, Marcus Smart is a Laker, the list goes on and on. We, as a fanbase, needed this footage perhaps more than we've ever needed anything before.

We still have A LONG road to go, but there's no denying after watching that footage it's impossible to not feel a billion times better about what Tatum will look like once he's finally medically cleared. Something tells me he's going to look a whole hell of a lot like this guy

who, last time I checked was not only an NBA Champion, but one of the best basketball players on Earth.