Paolo Banchero praised Jayson Tatum after the Boston Celtics forward returned to action following the Achilles tear he suffered during last year’s postseason.
Banchero shared the comments Saturday after leading the Orlando Magic to a 119–92 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 22-year-old forward finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds and three assists while shooting 10-for-18 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in 35 minutes.
Following the win, Banchero was asked about Tatum’s return to the court.
“It was great to see him out there. I just got to give him a lot of credit. I think his mindset from the start when the injury first happened, I saw him in the summer and you could tell that he was going to try to get back sooner than everybody thought. I didn’t know it would be this season, but you could tell he was already kind of working even soon after the injury.”
Banchero continued by emphasizing the challenge of returning from an Achilles injury and the impact of seeing Tatum back on the floor.
“So, it was great to see him out there and I think he’s an inspiration to just everybody… just for him to do the whole recovery in front of the whole world and come out last night and have a great game. Coming off that injury is not easy, and I can only imagine just what he’s had to deal with mentally and all that, but happy for him, man. Look forward to getting out there against him. I think we play Boston one more time, could see him in the playoffs, but yeah, happy for him, for sure.”
Paolo Banchero praises Jayson Tatum as Celtics, Magic could meet again in playoffs
Tatum returned to the lineup Friday night in Boston’s 120–100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, helping the Celtics improve to 42–21, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
In his first game back, the 28-year-old recorded 15 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and one steal while shooting 6-for-16 from the field and 3-for-8 from three-point range across 27 minutes.
Banchero and Tatum share a connection from their college careers. Both players starred at Duke University before entering the NBA, with Tatum playing one season for the Blue Devils in 2016–17 and Banchero following a similar path during the 2021–22 season.
The Celtics and Magic also met in last year’s postseason, when Boston defeated Orlando in five games during the first round.
With the Magic currently positioned in the Eastern Conference play-in race, a postseason rematch remains possible. Orlando improved to 34–28 with Saturday’s win, moving into the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. The Magic are tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for sixth place and trail the Toronto Raptors by one game for the fifth seed.
Orlando will conclude its two-game road trip Sunday night when it visits the Milwaukee Bucks (26-35) at 8:00 p.m. ET.
