yahoo - 5/2/2026 9:13:33 PM - GMT (+2 )
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is listed as questionable for Game 7 Saturday, May 2, against the Philadelphia 76ers. The team announced the forward’s downgraded status Saturday afternoon after he developed what the team said is "left knee stiffness" which forced him to leave Game 6 with about four minutes left in the third quarter.
Tatum, 28, is a game-time decision for the winner-take-all game at the TD Garden, per the team.
Tatum had been seen with an ice pack on his left calf, and reporters on the scene described it as a calf issue.
He was in the hallway working on the stationary bike during Thursday night’s game, but eventually just headed into the locker room and did not return as the Celtic s fell 106-93. That loss allowed Philadelphia to erase a 3-1 series deficit and force the win-or-go-home game on Saturday.
Tatum downplayed the injury after Thursday night’s loss.
"My leg was just a little stiff when I came out," he said after the game. "It was my other leg. Not the one I injured last year. I wasn’t overly concerned."
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was direct on Friday, telling reporters: "He’ll play."
There are some reasons to be concerned about it.
Tatum missed the first 62 games of this season, recovering from a torn right Achilles suffered in the 2025 playoffs. While Saturday’s issue involves the left knee, the opposite leg, there is speculation that it may have been caused by Tatum trying to physically compensate for the Achilles injury.
Before leaving Game 6, Tatum was averaging 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the series while shooting 47.5 percent from the field. Boston is a plus-28 in his minutes this series.
If Tatum cannot play, Baylor Scheierman or Jordan Walsh would likely start in his place with Payton Pritchard, Boston’s third-leading scorer this season, also a candidate to move into the starting lineup.
The Celtics led the series 3-1 before Philadelphia won back-to-back games to force Game 7, which tips off at 7:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jayson Tatum injury update: Celtics star questionable for Game 7
read more