Is Boston Celtics backup big man Xavier Tillman Sr. back? The Michigan State alum let it slip that he is much more svelte heading into the NBA’s 2025-26 regular season, having cut out unhealthy foods from his diet this offseason. More importantly to fans of the Celtics is the fact that Tillman’s knee is evidently doing much better after having impacted his play considerably for pretty much all of last season.

If Tillman can play the way he was able to when he first arrived in Boston, he will have all the runway he needs to reclaim a spot in the team’s frontcourt rotation. And with the Celtics having a dearth of trusted bigs to work with in their looming campaign, that could be a most welcome development.

The host of the CLNS Media “You Got Boston” podcast, Noa Dalzell, took some time on a recent episode of her show to talk it over. Check it out below!

Listen to “Havlicek Stole the Pod” on:

Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp

iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47

YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Is backup Celtics center Xavier Tillman Sr. back?