Boston won 56 games last season with its best player appearing in only 16 of them, proof the supporting cast can carry real weight. Whether that holds now that Jaylen Brown has moved to Philadelphia, leaving less proven depth behind Tatum and the newly arrived George, is the question that will define 2026-27.
Tatum's absence did not sink last season's record.
Tatum logged just 16 games last season, yet Boston still finished 56-26, with the league's No. 2 offense and No. 4 defense closing at an 8.3 mark. Derrick White played 77 games and Payton Pritchard 79, averaging 16.5 and 17.0 points, while Neemias Queta added 8.4 rebounds across 76 games and Sam Hauser shot 39.3 percent across 78. The record survived on their workload, not on banked Tatum minutes. Boston paid $203.9 million for that depth, clearing the $200.4 million tax line to keep it.
George arrives carrying the same question.
Paul George played 37 games last season, shooting 17.3 points a night at a 39.2 percent clip from three. He is now 36 and entering his 16th season, the most experienced player on the roster. His $54.1 million salary is the second-highest on the books, behind only Tatum's $58.5 million, which raises the cost of games missed beyond the box score.
Camp already hinted at the fragility.
Tatum was listed day-to-day on September 24 and cleared the same day, with no cause given. It is the best kind of injury scare, the kind that costs nothing.
The answer rests on games played, not picks acquired.
The real test for 2026-27 isn't whether the return for Brown, two first-round selections and two second-round selections, pays off on paper. It's whether Tatum and George are both healthy often enough for Boston to find out. Last season already showed the floor: a 56-26 record with Tatum playing 16 games. This season asks the same question with a 36-year-old added to the injury math. Boston controls its own 2027 and 2030 first-round rights either way, so the picks given up cost opportunity, not flexibility.
How many games did Jayson Tatum play last season?
Tatum appeared in 16 games last season, averaging 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
How many games did Paul George play last season before joining Boston?
George played 37 games last season, averaging 17.3 points on 39.2 percent three-point shooting, and enters this season at age 36.
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