Veteran Celtics' Star Al Horford Not Contemplating Ending His NBA Career Anytime Soon

Veteran Boston Celtics star Al Horford, who is set to enter his 18th year in the NBA, has apparently no plans to call time on his decorated career. The 38-year-old Dominican Republic-born five-time NBA All-Star and current NBA champion featured in 84 games in 2023/24 and clearly feels he has what it takes to make an impact in the short term.

This is Horford’s second spell at the TD Garden, and having secured his first NBA championship ring last time around, he clearly has a taste for success, hence his readiness to impress in 2024/25.

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Horford was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2007, the third overall pick and he spent nine seasons at the franchise before moving to the Celtics for his first spell, which lasted three seasons.

He then moved to the Philadelphia 76ers for one season and likewise at the Oklahoma City Thunder before returning to Boston ahead of 2021/22. Then, in his 17th season, he collected his first title and is obviously hungry for more.

“I don’t think there was ever a question that I was going to not come back or anything like that,” Horford commented.

“And for me, I never put a limit on how long I’m going to play. I feel good, and I’m very fortunate to be in this position. I give God the glory to that and to be in this position to continue to play and be in this team.”

“It’s been a lot of years that we’ve been fighting to get to this point, and now that we’re here, I’m just fortunate to be here and to wear the Celtics uniform. I’m just going to keep playing, and that’s what that is.” Horford concluded.

Horford proved very effective in the postseason last time around and indeed, across his career, his numbers after the regular season have been impressive, which is indicative of a player who knows how to make an impact when it matters most.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla expects Horford to be a key player in 2024/25, despite his advancing years, but one imagines he may be featuring less and less, with the emphasis on quality and not quantity of minutes.

It is worth noting that in his 17 previous NBA seasons, Horford has featured in the postseason 15 times, which tells its own story. He ranks 50th in the list of most playoff points, with a total of 2265, and he’ll be hoping to add to that in the forthcoming season.

On top of all this, Horford is a 100% team player, so much so that he’s already in approval over the player seen as his replacement. Commenting on Xavier Tillman, who was brought in at the trade deadline last year, he commented,

“Him being here, him being with us. And he's about the right things. He's trying to play to win. And when you have guys like that, it's very easy to come out here and play.”