From his rookie season during the 2007-08 year through the 2015-16 season, Al Horford was instrumental to the Atlanta Hawks’ success and was one of the main reasons why they made the NBA playoffs every season during that nine-season time span.
The Hawks may not have made the NBA Finals in this time, but Horford had made four All-Star appearances and Atlanta did make it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015, only to lose to LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Horford joined the Boston Celtics ahead of the 2016-17 season and spent three years with Boston, but he then joined the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the 2019-20 season and the veteran forward has been trying to get his career back on track since then.
Going to the 76ers did not work out the way many had imagined and after one season, the Sixers traded him to the OKC Thunder ahead of the 2020-21 season.
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They may have been one of the worst teams in the league talent-wise, but Al Horford was really playing well in Oklahoma City to begin the 2020-21 season, as he averaged 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and shot 45% from the floor, 36.8% from deep in 28 games, but then the Thunder and Horford came to an agreement that he would sit out the rest of the season in favor of the team’s young players.
Both GM Sam Presti and Al Horford were very receptive to working something out for the veteran to continue his career elsewhere and as a result, the Thunder traded him to the Boston Celtics this offseason in a deal that sent Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City, only to be bought out later.
In his three previous seasons with the Celtics, Al Horford averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 49.8% from the floor and he also made one All-Star appearance.
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Now, 35-years-old, Horford may not be the same player he was a handful of years ago, but he can still be a terrific player next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The Boston Celtics are out to prove that they are still a championship-contending team in the Eastern Conference this upcoming season and Al Horford’s experiences in this league could help further prove this point.
