Four times an All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks, Al Horford signed with the Boston Celtics in 2016 with the hope that this would be the team that would earn him his first NBA Championship.  It hasn’t happened, but there is still time.

In Horford’s first season in Boston, he averaged 14 Points per Game and was a solid defensive player, aiding the Celtics in pushing Cleveland to a seventh Games in the Eastern Conference Finals.  The year after, Horford added his fifth All-Star, won Second Team All-Defensive honors, and again helped lead his team to the ECF, again losing to the Cavaliers.  After another solid season in 2018-19 where he averaged 12.6 Points and had a career-best .586 in Effective Shooting Percentage, Horford signed with division rival Philadelphia, but that did not end his story in Boston.

The Celtics reacquired Horford, who was now with Oklahoma City in a trade before the 2021/22 Season, and though the Center was aging, he was still a valuable starter capable of big moments.  Horford and the Celtics made it to the 2022 Finals, and though in 2022/23 he dipped below 10 Points per Game for the first time, his leadership still helped the Celtics make another deep playoff run.

Horford’s Celtics begin the year as contenders, and while he is behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the pecking order, he is still a very large part of this squad.