The Boston Celtics completed their championship season when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Their five-game triumph set off a huge celebration for the team that has won 18 NBA titles, the most in league history. While superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are regularly the most publicized players on the team, the Celtics credited their championship to their outstanding team play. Veteran Al Horford was one of the key contributors, and the 38-year-old center was overjoyed at winning the first title of his career.
Horford completed the 17th year of his career with a championship ring. He has played 6 seasons with the Celtics, nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, one season with the Philadelphia 76ers and one with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Shortly after the Celtics won their title, Horford let his team and Boston fans know that he was not ready to head off into retirement. He wants to play at least one more season, but he is not sure about his playing future after the 2024-25 season. “I feel good, I want to keep it going,” Horford said.
Horford made significant contribution to Celtics effort
Despite his age, Horford regularly showed off his athleticism, defensive skill and ability to hit the open shot during the regular season and throughout the playoffs.
Horford was thrilled to be part of a championship team, and he had pictured the reaction of the city and the team's fans in the years prior to the crowning triumph.
“We play basketball for the Celtics and we understand we represent much more: Boston, we’re representing the New England area,” Horford said. “And I’m just very proud to be able to bring a championship to Boston. When I came here eight years ago, this was kind of what I envisioned. And it’s been hard. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tough losses over the years. But just to get to this point, I’m very grateful.”
Al Horford made a significant contribution throughout the NBA Finals for the Celtics. He only hit double-figures in points in Game 5 when he scored 10 points, but he also contributed 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots.
Horford was also consistent whenever he took a 3-point shot in the championship round. He made 2 of 5 attempts from distance in the decisive game, and he made 8 of 17 3-point attempts throughout the series.
Horford clearly respected by coaching staff
It's clear that 35-year-old head coach Joe Mazzulla respected Horford's all-around contribution as he played between 23 and 37 minutes of each of the games in the series against the Mavericks.
Al Horford has been an NBA All-Star three times in his career and he has been widely recognized as one of the league's better defensive players.
He averaged 8.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocks for the Celtics in the 2023-24 season. Horford connected on 51.1 percent of his shots from the field, 41.9 percent of his shots from distance and 86.7 percent of his shots from the free throw line.