"He's F**king Back!": Bill Simmons Reacts To Jayson Tatum's Return

Last Friday, Celtics fans got the thrill of their lives when they witnessed the return of Jayson Tatum after a 298-day layoff. Among these loyal supporters, one fan had the luxury of using his immense online platform to express his awe at Tatum’s comeback.

Bill Simmons, who has made no secret of his devotion to the Celtics, shared a clip of Tatum’s undeterred athleticism when he returned to take on the Dallas Mavericks. This wasn’t necessarily Simmons, the veteran analyst and founder of The Ringer. More like Simmons, the Boston die-hard.

“Been thinking about this sequence since it happened — one of the best non-playoff Celtics moments I can ever remember,” Simmons tweeted. “We went from ‘man, this has been rough’ to ‘he’s f**king back!!!!!!’ in less than 30 seconds. I’m really happy for JT.”

In the clip shared by Simmons, Tatum backpedals on defense but pumps the brakes as Derrick White steals the ball. He runs back, gets in position to rebound a Payton Pritchard miss, and posterizes Mavs star Cooper Flagg as he throws down a put-back dunk.

If there were any doubts that the 28-year-old was in good shape after recovering from an Achilles injury, Tatum silenced them by reminding the NBA community that his hops are as good as they’ve ever been.

Though the one-time NBA champion commanded the spotlight with that slam dunk, he had numerous selfless plays in his return to the Celtics lineup. At the start of the game, Tatum made a concerted effort to set up his teammates for good looks on the perimeter. As the matchup progressed, he also did the dirty work of crashing the boards to cap off defensive stops.

Tatum finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in the Celtics’ 120-100 victory. It’s a small sample size, but if Tatum’s performance for the rest of this season hovers around this stat line, the Celtics would be getting yet another dependable scorer, a bruiser in the paint, and a top-tier playmaker all rolled into one.

Jaylen Brown has been on a tear this season, building a solid case for the MVP, and now the Celtics have welcomed back the other half of their dynamic duo. If both Brown and Tatum remain healthy for the long haul, Simmons might have more expletives to tweet for the foreseeable future.