Jayson Tatum enters the upcoming NBA season with more on his plate than ever. After spending much of last season recovering from the torn Achilles he suffered during the 2025 playoffs, the Boston Celtics star is preparing for his first full campaign back. And this time, there is another major difference: Jaylen Brown is no longer beside him.
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Before getting back to business on the court, however, Jayson Tatum made a trip to China as part of an annual Jordan Brand promotional tour. He spent time in Shanghai meeting fans and taking part in an interactive basketball event. But one particular moment quickly turned into an awkward spectacle.
As fans loudly chanted his name, Jayson Tatum stepped up to the free-throw line and struggled badly. The six-time All-Star missed 10 straight free throws before finally making his 11th one, leaving the crowd waiting for him to finally knock one down.
For a player who rarely goes through an entire game without making a free throw, the sequence was especially unusual. The last time Tatum missed free throws like this was when he went 0-for-4 from the line in an NBA game during Game 1 of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic in the 2024-25 season.
Even though this was a promotional event, JT and his passionate fans didn’t expect him to miss ten in a row from the charity strip. The moment also comes at an important point in his career. Jayson Tatum is entering his 10th NBA season, and the Celtics will need him to look like himself again after the Achilles injury disrupted his 2025-26 campaign.
Boston managed to remain competitive without its franchise star last season, with Brown stepping into a larger role and helping the Celtics secure the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. But the postseason quickly exposed the limitations of that roster. Boston was eliminated in the first round, while Tatum remained on the sidelines for the decisive Game 7 as the team avoided taking unnecessary risks with his recovery.
After all, the 28-year-old came back to the hardwood in just ten months in March. Jayson Tatum played just 16 regular-season games but still maintained a healthy average of 21.8 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. The playoff performance was another positive step, as he contributed 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game.
With Brown now in Philadelphia, the Celtics are firmly Tatum’s team. And Boston is counting on its six-time All-Star to carry a much larger share of the responsibility. The free-throw mishap in Shanghai doesn’t raise any questions regarding JT’s health or production.
And these jokes won’t matter when the Celtics and Jayson Tatum deliver results from the first game and eventually hope to make a deeper playoff run.