Jayson Tatum was full of gratitude after he made his return from an Achilles injury in the Boston Celtics' 120-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

The Celtics star tore his right Achilles in Game 4 of last season's NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals against the New York Knicks, leading to 10 months on the sidelines.

And despite starting 0-6 from the field, Tatum found his rhythm to finish with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists on his return at TD Garden.

Tatum is the first player in NBA history to miss his team's first 50 games (or more) and then have 15+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists in his season debut.

Jaylen Brown (24 points) and Derrick White (20) also impressed in the victory for Joe Mazzulla's side, though all eyes were on Tatum in Boston.

"I still got a long way to go, but this was a really good step," said Tatum.

Jayson Tatum of the @celtics is the first player in NBA history to miss his team's first 50 games (or more) and then have 15+ points, 10+ rebounds & 5+ assists in his season debut. pic.twitter.com/texBMGrpMD

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 7, 2026

"It's been a long time coming just to get to this point. Nights and days, I dreamed about this moment and anticipation, the crowd.

"It's been 42 and a half weeks since I played in an NBA game, so just trying to get caught up on the speed and everything. I just kind of felt like I was a step off or moving too fast. But the game started to slow down as I just kind of relaxed a little bit.

"I really was just kind of grateful. I had a real sense of gratitude of just being back on the floor, playing basketball.

"It just kind of brought me back to everything I've been through in the last 10 months. And the fact that I was able to even be out there today was a really big win for me."