Josh Horford felt regret while celebrating the night his family waited their entire lives for. He saw the Larry O’Brien trophy early in the seemingly endless night after a Celtics won their 18th NBA championship — the first of his older brother Al Horford’s 17-year career. But he didn’t ask to hold it.
While everyone partied and smiled around him, he thought he missed his chance.
As that feeling set in, walking through the TD Garden tunnels later, he lifted his head and saw Al standing in front of him, who handed him the Larry. It’s still in Josh’s Twitter picture 15 months later, and a story he had to call back to recount after reminiscing on his brother’s iconic Celtics career. He nearly forgot to tell his favorite one.
Jun 21, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics player Al Horford rides on a duck boat with his dad during the Boston Celtics Championship parade. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Warrior Al
It’s hard to believe that chapter is over already, an attempt by that Celtics team to reunite and repeat with most of the roster coming back shattered in the second round with two blown leads at home and a devastating Jayson Tatum Achilles tear that left Horford on the edge of tears at Madison Square Garden. Everyone could sense the change coming two games later, when Boston fell in the series 4-2 in New York, but Horford leaving for the Golden State Warriors became the biggest surprise of the offseason. Even once it quickly emerged as inevitable.
“We made offers to both Luke (Kornet) and Al,” Brad Stevens said as Horford remained in free agency in July. “We would’ve loved to have had both of them back. I’d say (retaining Horford is) unlikely. The only reason I haven’t talked about Al is because it’s not final. I could probably talk about Al my whole press conference and not say enough. But I don’t want to speak in absolute terms until an ultimate decision is made. (He’s) another guy that, if he were to go and play somewhere else, was an all-time Celtic, a winner, and did everything he could for this organization. Not only from the games, but also how he impacted our younger players, who, in a lot of ways, now have to take what they’ve learned from the Jrues and the Als and people like that and apply that.”
Horford reportedly signed a two-year, $11.7 million deal with the Warriors late last month that included a second-year player option. He reflected on a difficult decision that lasted nearly the entire offseason due to the extended Jonathan Kuminga restricted free agency that took precedence over Horford’s signing. Horford called Golden State the only team that he would’ve left the Celtics for, while Stevens later alluded to the money Boston worked with in filling his and his other former teammates’ roster spots with Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Josh Minott on minimum contracts. That’s all the Celtics could offer Horford.
“I think you can see where our contracts were with who we signed, that we were gonna be handcuffed around the aprons a bit,” Stevens said.
With the Warriors, Horford received a chance to start after moving to the bench in Boston in recent years, along with contending for a championship and receiving the mid-level exception with the chance to assess his future next summer. His father Tito Horford awaited the news with the rest of the NBA world, learning when everyone else did following Stevens’ comments that his son would be moving on from the franchise that he thought Al would retire with.
Oct 5, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors center-forward Al Horford (20) directs teammates against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Tito understood the business aspect, stressing his family’s love and respect for Boston and Massachusetts while acknowledging Horford and the Celtics both needed to do what was best for themselves. Tito played with Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s father in Milwaukee, and spent time in San Francisco during the 2022 Finals, making the surprising transition smoother. He plans to sport the Horford Warriors jersey court side the same way he did his Celtics one in Boston.
“I didn’t know that he was gonna be leaving the Celtics, to be honest with you, because I don’t think it was under his control,” Tito said. “He got his house over there, still, and we never thought that this moment would come to an end like this. I didn’t know. I never asked him. It took me by surprise when I first heard that he’s no longer gonna be part of the Celtics’ plan.”
Al Horford also confirmed last week what his family assured throughout that he never considered retirement. He hopes to play for as long as possible entering his 19th NBA season at 39. That didn’t sound certain the day after Game 6, when he spoke at Auerbach Center uncertain about his future and needing to discuss it with his family in the coming weeks.
The shock of Tatum’s injury still resonated, while Boston’s front office soon alerted Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis that they may depart as the team navigated a difficult salary cap and luxury tax position. Stevens later blamed the second apron and need to reset the team’s cap flexibility going forward as the reason for their significant offseason losses. The Horfords understood that, and Tito expressed no hard feelings.
“It’s gonna be a little emotional on him (when he returns), maybe on the fans, but I think the Celtics, they’re gonna love to see him come back to the TD Garden,” he said. “The love and the respect they have for him, it doesn’t have anything to do with the decision that he made, because he didn’t have control about the decision he made.”
“When (the Warriors) play over there, I’ll be over there watching the game … love and respect for everybody over there and best wishes for the Celtics this year.”
Al sat behind a blue podium last week before revealing a No. 20 jersey, a change Tito noticed reflected his son’s transition into a shooter. After reminiscing on a long, strange offseason due to the delay in joining the team, Al blocked three shots in 14 minutes in his preseason debut, finding cutters, including Steph Curry, out of the corners while grabbing four rebounds and shooting 1-for-3 off the bench. His family’s in town, and he’s being tough on himself through the acclimation process on the court, but Steve Kerr noticed a seamless transition.
Horford also mentioned the chance to win with the Warriors while Shams Charania’s initial report on the signing emphasized his starting role with his new team. He had transitioned to a bench role with Boston.
“Any team will embrace him the right way because just the way he communicates with the coaching staff, with the players and what he brings to the table day and night,” Tito said. “He’s always gonna do something to help you win. And that’s what coaches and GMs and even players want a player to do and that’s what he brings.”
“He was working the whole summer on his body, shooting … he might look 39, but his body is like 29 years old.”
Family affair
Maria Horford remembered Al’s smile and eyes lighting up when she and her siblings reached Al on the floor after the confetti fell on June 6, 2024.
His sister Anna saw a weight off his shoulders.
Josh got emotional thinking about how long his brother waited and what he put into winning the championship.
Tito joked that it took five hours to reach his hotel five minutes away because of how many fans approached him after the win. The refrain echoed around Tito throughout Al’s tenure with the Celtics: ‘We love your son.’
For Al’s brother Jon Horford, who called Al the next day from his home in Michigan, he reached Al in a sense of calm. Normalcy.
“How do you feel?” Jon said.
“I feel great,” Al replied. “It’s nice to do.”
Then, “I’m gonna go play with the kids in the backyard.'”
“That’s what championships end up being,” Jon said. “People think it’s these moments that (change) your life forever and if you experience this, everything is gonna change. And you experience it and you wake up the next day and you realize that you’re the same person, and you gotta feed your kids breakfast.”
Horford and Amelia Vega announced their sixth child in July, adding to a family that became a staple alongside him at TD Garden. The others don’t remember Atlanta, and some didn’t even live through that era. Ean, born in 2015, only knew Al as a Celtic around a brief hiatus between Philadelphia and Oklahoma City while the world experienced COVID.
Joe Mazzulla welcomed Ean on the bench, where he handed out towels and celebrated wins with the team, and in turn thanked Horford last week for welcoming him into his family beyond accepting Mazzulla’s coaching. When Mazzulla became head coach following the Ime Udoka suspension, Horford didn’t know the assistant coach well. But he bought in and helped the team rally around Mazzulla, whose system and style eventually helped him earn his long-coveted title.
May 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla talks with center Al Horford (42) from the sideline as they take on the New York Knicks during game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
“Great Celtic. Means a lot,” Mazzulla said. “I’m grateful for the relationship that we had. It’s impressive the professionalism that he’s had. Grateful we’ve been able to share in something as a person. Just who he is as a person and as a player is bigger than basketball. He’s allowed me into his basketball life, but also his family. Now, we get to compete against each other.”
The championship gave the Horfords a rare chance to fully unwind together at Al’s house near Boston where they spent several days celebrating. Maria remembered the Colombian hot dogs drowned in toppings, not normally part of Al’s diet, as his special request. They took tequila shots, which even their dad, who never drinks, joined in on.
Nobody rejoiced in Horford’s return to Boston in 2020 like his siblings, and Stevens’ first trade as president culminated in Horford becoming a driving force on the 2024 title run after helping lead the Celtics to the 2022 Finals in his first season back. The move accelerated Tatum’s growth on and off the court, calling Horford his favorite teammate ever, and credited their conversations about life and basketball while sitting together on plane rides as crucial to his ascent into one of the league’s best players.
May 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and center Al Horford (42) react after play against the New York Knicks in the third quarter during game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Boston extended Horford for two-years, $20 million after that run, a key early move in building the championship team that would need him more when Porziņģis fell injured twice in the playoffs. The run featured a 22-point explosion in the clincher over Cleveland, as Tito watched and celebrated court side, and a 7-for-12 three point shooting Game 3 at Indiana when Boston came back down by 18 points in the third quarter.
“It was really fun,” Anna said. “We’re a big family so it’s always fun to have everyone together. Al ordered some of his favorite food that he doesn’t indulge in during the season and we all had some drinks and went over to his house and we were blasting music in his backyard. I think we played ‘We Are the Champions’ like 10 times.”
A vision
Horford recalled his decision to leave the Atlanta Hawks nearly one decade ago in his interview on stage inside TD Garden after winning the championship. Danny Ainge, Wyc Grousbeck and he discussed what that moment would look like. Highs-and-lows along the way, roster transitions and even his own choice to depart Boston for Philadelphia altered the trajectory of how they pictured it happening. But it still occurred.
His family remembers Horford’s desire to play for a historic franchise as the driving force in choosing the Celtics over a return to Atlanta or the Washington Wizards, who made a strong push to add him to their core of John Wall and Bradley Beal. Boston was unfamiliar to the Horfords and even emerged as an advisory through Al’s Hawks years. Atlanta defeated the Celtics in the first round of the 2016 playoffs and Boston started its 2008 title march with a seven-game series win over Horford’s Hawks to finish his rookie season. Maria hated the Celtics growing up.
“I hadn’t been to Boston, but I was really excited because Boston is such a legacy team and they’re so iconic,” Anna said. “I think it had been frustrating for me, not just as a sister, but as a fan, for Al to be on a team like the Hawks, who isn’t really known for a super loyal fan base, because it’s a city where I think people, a lot of the time come and go, and they don’t have deep roots in Atlanta and with the Hawks, and Boston was the complete opposite of that, just the name recognition and I knew he was going to a team that was special and that had an awesome history and a team that’s legendary. The Celtics are legendary.”
Sep 26, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center-forward Al Horford (42) during media day at the Boston Celtic Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
“So, I think we were all really excited for him to finally get that opportunity because he had been such a great solid player during his time with the Hawks. He was their franchise player, their cornerstone, but he never really got the recognition, I think, because it was the Hawks. So him having the opportunity to go to a massive franchise like the Celtics, I think we were just excited that he was finally gonna get to be a part of something.”
It helped that Tito wore green-and-white, too, for a summer 20 years earlier as he tried to make the Celtics in the mid-1990s. After several seasons overseas, he joined Dee Brown, Rick Fox and Dana Barros at Boston’s training camp but the team appeared set at center between Pervis Ellison and Eric Montross. Without much roster flexibility, Tito Horford fell short and continued his NBA career overseas for nearly another decade.
Al was about to turn 10, then, and was several years away from moving to Michigan for high school. He had joined Tito through his various stops, including in Milwaukee, where Tito played with and became good friends with fellow big man Frank Kornet. They still talk on the phone and can’t believe that three decades later their sons would win an NBA championship together. Luke Kornet hadn’t been born yet, but Al was nearly as much of a presence around those Bucks teams as his son Ean would become in Boston. Tito sounded even more surprised that the Celtics let Kornet go than Horford this summer.
“(Al) was very young when I was in Milwaukee, he probably doesn’t remember,” Tito said. “I used to see (Al) as a 2-year-old, 3-year-old, he used to sit on the bench to watch practice, two hour practice, just watching right there, not saying anything … he was just sitting there to watch practice.”
Frank and Tito played against the Larry Bird Celtics during the late-1980s after Tito watched the Boston dynasty form through his high school and college years. Robert Parish became one of his favorite players, and when the Bucks drafted him in the second round out of Miami, it marked the first time a player from the Dominican Republic reached the NBA.
May 17, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward/center Al Horford and his father Tito Horford game one of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Al’s championship was also a first by a Dominican player, and he’s become an inspiration for Celtics fans on the island and aspiring professional basketball players following in their footsteps. That’s the platform he built beyond the significance Al played in the franchise’s trajectory as a roster at the time.
Other than Dominique Wilkins and other stars like Shaquille O’Neal who joined Boston late in their careers, Horford’s arrival stands as their most consequential free agent addition in franchise history. There’s a case his contributions amounted to enough to raise his No. 42 in the rafters one day. Tito left that to the organization.
“It would be awesome. It would be great, to see his number retired, because he did so much for that franchise, he worked hard, he played hard, as you saw, when they won the championship, Kristaps Porziņģis got hurt, he’s the one who played day and night, every night, and helped his team win,” Tito said. “And before that, he took them to the conference finals, he took him to the NBA Finals, so he did a lot for the franchise, on the court and off the court. So this is something, of course, we would love to see, but time will tell.”
Still going
Horford returned for the 2024-25 season without much hesitation despite questions about whether he’d end his career with that first title. The chance to run most of the 2024 roster back inspired many of the players who returned in free agency, while Horford’s love for the game inspires him to play each year, he and Jon mentioned in the year after. Jon also stressed the importance of Al remaining a high-level contributor and not taking the step back into a veteran mentorship role that many players in his position had.
“For many years, Brady, I was following what he did,” Horford said last year. “Reading about it and seeing if something could benefit me and if it could go into some of the things that I want to do and go from there. Everybody kind of has their own way, but for me, it was keeping an open mind and looking at those examples, seeing how I could be better myself. With Tom, I was always impressed with his food regimen and how he went about it. Obviously, he takes it to a much bigger extreme than I would. I do like to eat a little bit of everything, but that discipline goes a long way and my first time here in Boston, I was able to pick some of those things up and follow them. Staying away from certain foods, especially on game day … things that can give you a little edge.”
That success also stemmed from a strict weight-training routine and some luck, Jon acknowledged. Al emphasized adapting to to three-point era, now his primary contribution on offense alongside his versatile defense that still stands among some of the best players at his position. The consistency, chefs, trainers and heady approach to the game, screening, passing and defensive versatility all paying off in one of the longest-running successful careers the league has seen.
Only Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Mike Conley remain from their draft class.
It’s unclear why the Celtics didn’t make a stronger push to sign him in free agency beyond second apron issues they addressed in early July. Especially as uncertainty faces their front court even beyond 2026, when Tatum should make his return at some point. Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and others stressed re-signing Horford in May.
“You can’t replace Al,” Pritchard said. “I definitely hope we get that figured out, because his locker room presence alone is just crucial. Then, having him on the court, for all the young guys to see how he goes about his business, how professional he is, he’s just a leader. So we definitely need him back.”
Horford’s potential return to free agency gives both sides the chance to reassess their futures in a year, while he receives an opportunity to win a second championship with other all-stars in their mid-to-late 30s.
Tito still sees the Celtics reaching the playoffs, and is excited for the opportunity Neemias Queta could earn at center in his place. But as Boston pivots toward what’s next, Horford hasn’t shown major signs of slowing down.
“He still contributes at such a high level that he might still be a few years away from that point, so he might have 5-6 more years in the NBA” Jon said. “Unless he decides that he just needs to spend more time with his kids and Ean’s getting to the age where he’s gonna start having like tournaments and stuff like that, and he’d rather focus on that stuff … I could see him playing for another 5-6 years.”