BOSTON — Standing on the confetti-strewn podium in front of a national television audience, Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck and coach Joe Mazzulla got to hold the Larry O’Brien trophy after the Celtics won their 18th NBA title. Soon, the trophy was in Jayson Tatum’s hands.
However, everyone on the stage wanted to make sure 17-year veteran Al Horford was next.
“Nobody deserved it more than Al,” Jaylen Brown said. “He’s been a great not just leader on the court but off the court as well. Just a mentor. Somebody I know I can talk to about life and is going to give me great advice about family, about finances, about just life, adversity, whatever the case is. Just Al has just been that guy for me and for us.”
“Knowing the type of person that Al is, knowing the leader that he is, even off the court, the father that he is, just the all-around great person and great human, I’d run through a brick wall for him,” said Jrue Holiday, who admitted it was a little strange that just a year ago he was trying to prevent Horford from getting a ring. “I’m so happy that he got one.”
Horford had tasted a championship before, he won two NCAA titles while at the University of Florida under now Bulls coach Billy Donovan, with teammates Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer.
The NBA mountain, however, can take much longer and be harder to climb. Horford was a five-time All-Star, an All-NBA and All-Defensive Team player, but he did not have a ring.
He saw Grousbeck’s 2008 ring during his 2016 free agency meetings and that’s part of what drew Horford to the Celtics eight years ago (he left the team in 2019 as a free agent and signed with Philadelphia, which traded him to Oklahoma City in 2020, then in 2021 the Thunder traded him back to the Celtics, where he re-signed and has been since).
“Man, I never forget what Danny Ainge told me in that meeting,” Horford said. “He said,’ You can win championships in many places, but there’s nothing like winning in Boston. Nothing like winning as a Celtic.’ And that stuck with me from that meeting. I was like, man, I’m trying to be great, and that’s what I want.”
Horford has been a great fit, a player the Celtics have repeatedly turned to when other things didn’t go to plan — like Kristaps Porzingis getting injured in the Finals.
Horford embraced Boston and being a Celtic in a way not every player does — and that has made him a fan favorite.
“The first thing you have to do when you come here is you have to embrace that pressure. And I was okay with being in that position,” Horford said. “I was okay if we were getting criticized and we weren’t getting it done because I understood what it means playing here. And to your point, finally overcoming that and winning and putting ourselves with the greats, this is special.
“Our group, we’ve had a lot of hardships the last few years. Last year, heartbreaker against Miami, Game 7. Year before, Golden State. It’s been building up. But this team has been resilient, and we’ve continued to work.”
And now Horford will go down is Boston Celtics lore as part of this team.
His teammates could not be happier for him.
