Subscribe
Follow Us
Boston Celtics big man Al Horford gave an eye-opening, instant reaction to receiving his first NBA ring.
“I got the measurements all wrong, it's like way too big,” The Celtics' center immediately told teammates Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis while mic'd up and wearing the championship hardware during TNT's coverage of the ring ceremony.
Horford's hilarious comments came during a historic night for the Celtics franchise as they celebrated their 18th championship in franchise history, inching one title ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the record. The veteran star also made some history of his own in his native country of the Dominican Republic the same week that Boston hung up their banner before the game against the New York Knicks.
During the ring ceremony, Horford was seen interacting with teammates and Celtics' staff as well as former NBA legend Kevin Garnett. Garnett is no stranger to hanging up a banner in TD Garden, having helped the Celtics to their 17th championship with a 4-2 series win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Other Celtics' legends in attendance included Garnett's legendary teammates Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and six-time champion Bob Cousy.
This was Boston's first championship since 2008, despite making it to at least the Eastern Conference Finals six times between those two titles. Horford had to wait even longer than 16 years to finally reach the pinnacle of the sport, even though he is no stranger to competing in the playoffs.
Al Horford won his first NBA title after 186 playoff games
The 5-time NBA All-Star played in a league-leading 186 postseason contests before winning his first championship with the Celtics. The only player to surpass that total, who in his case never won a ring, is NBA legend Karl Malone. Horford made the postseason eight consecutive years with the Atlanta Hawks before signing with the Celtics during free agency in 2016.
In his two stints in Boston, “Big Al” has been to a total of five Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals, with the second trip ending in banner #18. The Celtics needed all of Horford's contributions during their historic championship run as their starting center Kristaps Porzingis only played in seven postseason games including three out of five Finals games. These performances helped Horford become the first player since 1969 to win a championship while being older than his head coach.
As the Celtics steamrolled through the playoffs, the 37 going on 38-year-old veteran took on the starting center role, playing in all 19 postseason games and starting 15 of them. Horford played 30 minutes a game while averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds. With Porzingis expected to be out an extended period of time recovering from left ankle surgery, the Celtics will look to Big Al to play a big role in their title defense. But the 17-year vet does have experience defending a major championship, having done so with the University of Florida in 2007.
