BOSTON — These are the good ol’ days. Take it in. Soak it all up. Years from now, when fans reflect on this era of Boston Celtics basketball, there should always be this warm feeling inside. Not only did they deliver Banner No. 18 — and who knows what else is in front of them — this current cast of Celtics is plenty likable.
Perhaps, from a fan point of view, there’s no better guy who encapsulates that than Al Horford. He’s the vet. Listen to Jayson Tatum talk about him. When Tatum entered the league with aspirations of being the best, he looked at Horford as the standard. Or just listen to how his teammates describe the big man. They love him.
So, years later, when you’re reflecting on this wild Celtics ride, don’t also forget what Horford brought to the table. Guys at 38 years old — 39 in a few months — aren’t supposed to make an impact like he did in the Celtics’ win over the Nuggets on Sunday. The big man had his fingerprints all over the victory, putting up 19 points and eight rebounds. Appreciate that.
Make no mistake, too, Horford is still an important cog of the operation as the C’s eye back-to-back titles. The Celtics are reigning champions because of their depth and what that looks like on a nightly basis. Hear how C’s coach Joe Mazzulla, two years younger than Horford, talks about the veteran big and his impact on the game.
“You take a look at his stat sheet, it doesn’t always show what he does for us,” Mazzulla said. “Most of what he does can’t be measured. But he has the innate ability to impact the game in so many different ways, and he’s one of the best players in the league at guarding the other best players in the league, no matter the position that they have. He was just elite tonight on the defensive end of the floor, with his positioning, his communication, his physicality, his rebounding.”
Not only is this a young man’s league, it’s also the hardest league in the world to crack. Only the select few earn even a few ticks in an NBA game, much less enjoy a 17-year career like Horford. And it’s not just Horford. Watch what LeBron James and Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant and other longtime veterans are doing on a nightly basis still contributing, beating Father Time as long as possible. These guys are rare. These guys connect NBA eras from the past to the now. That’s special in its own right.
Eventually, Horford will retire. The Celtics will look different. They will move on from this rare, selfless group. That’s how the NBA and life works. Guys get older, more expensive, less effective. Change is constant.
The Celtics will, naturally, be judged on if they can also win the 2025 title. Those are the expectations in Boston. But as Mazzulla harps, keep an eye on the process. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the Celtics beating some of the best teams in the NBA consistently. Sure, they won’t win every game. But they’re winning a lot of them. And in that same vein, watch Horford and appreciate greatness in a different form.
“Al is the ultimate team guy,” Jaylen Brown said. “He’s a great connector for our unit. He does a great job night-in and night-out. So any time he’s on the floor, he stretches the floor with his shots. So any time we can get an easy one to him, because he does all the dirty work on the other side.”
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