Veteran center Nikola Vucevic will return to action in Sunday’s game vs. Toronto, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed to reporters, including Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Vucevic has been sidelined since March 6 due to a fractured right ring finger. The injury, which required surgery, was expected to sideline him for at least three-to-four weeks, and he’ll return in just under a month.
The 16th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Vucevic spent his rookie season with Philadelphia, then was traded to Orlando in the 2012 offseason as part of the four-team deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers. Vucevic played eight-and-a-half years for the Magic prior to being traded to Chicago ahead of the 2021 deadline.
Vucevic spent six years with the Bulls, who traded him to the Celtics last month.
In his 11 healthy games with Boston, Vucevic averaged 11.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists on .445/.351/.824 shooting in 23.5 minutes per contest. He has been coming off the bench with the Celtics after starting nearly every game in which he appeared over the past 10 years.
Overall, Vucevic has played 60 games (29.0 MPG) in 2025/26, averaging 15.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 3.4 APG on .496/.373/.835 shooting. The 35-year-old, who is playing on an expiring $21.5MM contract, will be an unrestricted this summer if he doesn’t sign a veteran extension with Boston before July 1, the start of the new league year.