As the Boston Celtics celebrate winning the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks and hoisting up their 18th championship in franchise history, one person that people are most happy to see finally win a title is the long-time veteran in Al Horford. He previously had the active record for participating in the most playoff games without winning a title, but that is all over as he gets to cherish the moment with the people he loves most, especially his 9-year old son named Ean.
Horford on his son and family being “involved” with the Celtics
One of the viral videos posted by Boston's X (formerly known as Twitter) was the team besides Horford celebrating with his son as the moments were counting down to the end of Game 5. There is no doubt it was a special moment for everybody involved as Horford talks about how his children is “so invested” and “committed” with the Celtics according to Jay King of The Athletic.
“He’s so involved with the team,” Horford said. “He really loves being a Celtic. He just really relishes it. And to see him throughout the season being so invested in it, so committed with it — my girls too, my (four) daughters are super into it, but he’s playing now so he’s starting to understand it a little more.
“And for me, the most gratifying part of it is just seeing him happy but also seeing my teammates embracing him,” Horford continued. “I saw in the video Derrick White went over, gave him a hug and was all emotional with him. They really care for him and that to me is the special part: that we not only get to celebrate this with the guys and we get to celebrate with our families. And our families are right there, they’re a part of it. We sacrifice so much to be in these positions and it was just nice to see him enjoy this moment.”
Horford has been a fan favorite to Celtics fans
Looking at it from a broader scope, Horford has been a fan favorite as he has dedicated now six seasons to winning a potential championship with the Celtics in his 17-year career. It was not six seasons straight as he first played with them from 2016-2019, then played with the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder for two seasons then came back to Boston, much to the delight of one fan who said he was “stealing money from other teams” according to Noa Dalzell.
“For Al to stick with this team, go get money, steal money from other teams, it means something special,” a fan said to Dalzell.
Like with anybody, family is crucial for Horford and when he won the championship, his focus was on being with them and cherishing the moment. In celebrating the championship, it was revealed that most of the team traveled to Miami, Florida, but Horford would say to The Athletic that he stayed to be with his loved ones.
“I’ve had a bunch of my family over, my mom, dad, some of my really good close friends, sisters, brother, and we just hung out for the past couple of days,” Horford said. “It’s been really nice having the kids running around, just being home, trying to take everything in. So it feels good to be here and just feel the love from everybody.”
Horford on cherishing Boston winning a champipnship
Speaking of cherishing the moment, Horford has been trying to do that ever since the buzzer rang in Game 5 of the NBA Finals as the Celtics beat the Mavericks, 106-88. He has been trying to do that so much so that he has not been able to reflect too much on his whole career and what led him to this moment.
“I don’t know if I’ve been able to reflect on it that much,” Horford said. “I feel like we’re still caught up in the celebration, the confetti going down, everything that just transpired within the last couple of days, I haven’t really had a chance to really look at it from that point of view, I feel like we’re just really caught up in just looking at the pictures, looking at videos, just trying to take it all in with my family, just kind of sharing stories of the night and things like that. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing.”
Horford speaks on bringing a title to the Celtics
At the end of the day, playing for the city of Boston puts a lot of pressure on the back of any player, coach, and executive associated with that team. The Celtics are obviously no different and Horford knows that more than anybody on the team, but said he is “very proud to be able to bring a championship” to the city.
“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.”
Horford calls the city of Boston “special”
While there are other cities known for their passion to sports teams like New York and Philadelphia which Horford spent one season with the 76ers as said before, he separates Boston from the rest.
“I’ve been all over the country and I just haven’t seen the love, the care and the commitment from people towards not only their sports but their community,” Horford said via The Athletic.. “I feel like here in Boston there’s a real tight community, like, that’s a real thing. And whether I’m out putting gas in my car or whether I’m at the grocery store or whatever, people always say good things, always embracing me and my family.
“And it’s everywhere in Mass,” Horford continued. “We talk about in Boston, but we take my kids apple picking, we go to the beach, we go to different places and people are the same. They keep the same energy. People really love it here. And for me, that’s the thing that captivated me, just the sense of community here and the togetherness that we have here in Boston. And that’s very special.”
At any rate, the festivities continue Friday with the official Celtics parade as they won their first championship since 2008, but while the players will get a rest, the work continues. They look to build off an exceptional season where they had the best record in basketball at 64-18 and were dominant in the playoffs leading to the title series win.
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