Jayson Tatum says Achilles recovery gave him ‘different level of appreciation’

Jayson Tatum is back, healthy and looking at training camp a little differently this time around.

The Celtics star missed nearly all of last season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles, and he told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that the experience changed his perspective.

“Last year was really tough for me,” Tatum said. “I kind of remember these days of training camp [last year] and I would be in the weight room the whole time watching the team practice.”

At the time, Tatum had only recently been cleared to begin light running and was still rebuilding strength in his right leg.

Now, his recovery is complete.

Washburn reports that Tatum’s explosiveness attacking the basket has returned, along with his confidence, as he prepares for his 10th NBA season and a larger scoring burden with Jaylen Brown no longer in Boston.

“It was just tough to digest and go through it,” Tatum said. “So now being on this side and knowing what it felt like to have to watch the whole time, it’s a different level of appreciation of being a part of everything and the game that I love with my teammates.”

After spending last October watching practice from the weight room, simply being back in the middle of it all apparently feels pretty good.