The Official Al Horford Tribute Video Released By The Celtics Is Enough To Make A Grown Man Cry
Brian Babineau. Getty Images.With the Jonathan Kuminga situation finally resolved in Golden State, that means the team can finally officially announce the signings of all their free agents. While I don't really give a shit about Gary Payton II or De'Anthony Melton returning to GS, what I very much do care about is their new starting center, Al Horford.
As I blogged when the Shams bomb first dropped the other day, his announcement wasn't shocking or even really news, considering we all knew since July that this is where Al was going. Even knowing that, there was no way around the fact that seeing the Shams tweet was the final twist of the knife in what has been a Celtics offseason from hell.
Or so I thought.
Now that things are official and the Warriors have put out their formal announcement of the signing
it meant that everyone could now finally "talk" about it. Prior to today, you technically still had to pretend like this signing didn't happen, but now that the pen has been put to paper, reality has set in.
This also allowed the Celts themselves to address the move, and they did it with one of the best tribute videos you ever see. Normally, you have to wait until that player returns to the Garden to get one of these, but we may as well get it out of the way now
I know it's weird, I know it's more than a little pathetic, but that shit made me sad as fuck. Did I tear up? Who's to say (of course I fucking did). Even though my brain has known for months this was happening and the fact that the second Tatum's achilles snapped it probably meant the end for Al as a Celtic, watching that tribute video brought back all the emotions I thought I had successfully buried deep inside in places we don't talk about
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And let me be very clear about this. Al Horford has earned the right to do whatever the fuck he wants. At this stage of his career, there's nothing wrong with cashing in one last time (he got the full taxpayer MLE of 2/$12M) with a team that he may feel has a better shot at contention than the 2025-26 Celtics. Does that hurt to hear? You bet your ass it does, but the NBA is a business. The Celts only had so much money to spend, we have no clue what their season is going to look like without Tatum, plus that second year for Al is a player option, so I'm personally not ruling out a potential return. Al Horford easily has 2 more years left in those legs, and if the Warriors don't make a deep run? He'll be more than fresh to come on back in the summer of 2026.
OK, that was just me coping, but I'm serious about everything else. While it's disappointing that Al is headed West, that's his right. He was a tremendous Celtic, the first big-time free agent to ever come to Boston in my lifetime, he helped ruin the Sixers from within which I always appreciated, and of course, everything he did to help bring in Banner 18. Not to mention how much he embraced being a Celtic and the city. In my opinion, he was everything you could have hoped for as an outsider coming in and becoming a Celtic. It's not for everyone, but with Al, it was perfect.
Which naturally leads to the question about a potential jersey retirement. If you are on either side of that debate, I think you have valid points. I wouldn't hate it if he went up, but I also understand why maybe he shouldn't.
After going through the numbers and tossing and turning for multiple nights over this topic, it's complicated. Now that he's left (again), there seems to be this push of a narrative that Horford wasn't a key factor in their success or their title, which I VERY VERY VERY much disagree with. We saw multiple playoff runs where Playoff Al was one of their best and most consistent performers. Clutch plays, massive performances in huge spots, I think it's bullshit that just because some may be upset about him leaving, that we are trying to change what actually happened on the court. That's fucked.
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At the same time, I do think you have to draw the line in the sand at some point. Had Al stayed and retired a Celtic after 1-2 more years, I think he would have more than enough of a case. That'd give him 9 years plus a championship. That would match what he played in ATL (9 seasons), and who knows, maybe they rip off another title.
For me? As much as it pains me to say, I think leaving the second time is what keeps him from seeing #42 go up to the rafters. I'm not sure if it should, but it's complicated. I could look past the first time since that was for $100M and he was sneaky operating as a sleeper cell for Brad Stevens, but twice might be a little much. At least that's how I feel right this second. I go back and forth all the time on how I feel about it, which is why I think I'm OK with either outcome. Guys like Rondo aren't up there (9 years, 1 title), so it feels like Al will fall into that camp.
Either way, if Al Horford has truly played his last second as a member of the Boston Celtics, what a run it was. In my opinion, he's as close to the perfect basketball player as someone could possibly be. His 7 seasons as a Celtic were everything I could have hoped for and more when he finally came on board back in 2016-17, and I will forever be thankful for what he contributed to my favorite basketball team.