Once again, Al Horford found himself wearing green and surrounded by a mob of crazed Celtics fans. This time it was on Boylston Street, on a 90 degree day, helping sell some fried chicken.
Horford could have been helping fix signal issues on the Green Line for all it mattered. The smile that has probably been plastered across his face since late Monday night was still there on Thursday. Being surrounded by thousands of fans still high off the Celtics championship win helps.
“We play basketball for the Celtics but we understand we represent much more,” Horford said at the Raising Cane’s in Back Bay. “I’m just very proud to be able to bring a championship to Boston. When I came here eight years ago, this is what I envisioned.”
Well, maybe not the slinging chicken tenders part, but to the victors go the spoils. Winning a championship in Boston means all the ribbon cuttings, and associated endorsement money, your heart desires.
It also means joining a select, legendary group of players, which is why all those people gathered in the sun for four hours waiting for a glimpse of the newly minted champion. They cooked longer than any of the food inside, but it was worth it to congratulate the one guy even the most grizzled Celtics haters could root for.*
*rooting for Al Horford offer not valid in Philadelphia
“Nobody deserved it more than Al,” Jaylen Brown said after Game 5. “He's been a great not just leader on the court but off the court as well. Just a mentor. Somebody I know I can talk to about life and is going to give me great advice about family, about finances, about just life, adversity, whatever the case is. Just Al has just been that guy for me and for us.”
In real life, Horford is just 38 years old. Wrinkles have barely started to touch his face and even if he did let his hair grow in, the specks of gray are only just starting to show themselves. There's a lot more pepper than salt at this age.
But in basketball years, he’s Methuselah in a sport dominated by young 20-somethings. The longer the journey took, the more Horford had to adjust. But even as he moved further away from the basket offensively, Horford still found time to show his old self. He could still put his head down from time to time to get a basket when Boston needed one along the way.
“We leaned on him so much,” Brown said. “Probably too much for his age and where he's at. He just delivered. So consistent, so disciplined with his body. Never complains, you know what I mean. The only thing he does is add to winning.”
He took a backseat when Kristaps Porzings joined the team, agreeing to come off the bench with no issues at all. He was a target in the playoffs, but he held his own enough to make the strategy less than ideal. Horford took the hits when the Celtics saw an opportunity to bait opposing teams, like Cleveland, into attacking what they saw as a mismatch. In actuality, the Celtics were living with something that took opponents away from their true strengths.
People saw it and called Horford old and slow. Boston looked at it and saw Horford drawing an opponent into distraction while Boston ran its normal offense on the other end.
“Nobody deserves it more,” Derrick White said. “Just does everything for us. Doesn't ask for anything.”
Horford may not have asked for much because he was spending most of his time listening. He taught Jayson Tatum how to be a pro, even if he didn’t specifically give Tatum a blueprint. Just by being himself, he taught Tatum how to carry himself when the cameras weren’t on him.
“That's my favorite teammate of all time,” Tatum said. “He paved the way for a lot of us. It means the world to share this with him.”
Horford is coming back for at least one more season, but considering how he played, there may be more. As long as he’s in Boston and as long as he’s competing for a title, it seems like he’ll have the energy to run through a few more gauntlets. This time, he won’t have to take any detours to Philadelphia or Oklahoma City first.
“Knowing how he has been chasing this for so long in his career and finally get it done, and playing at a high, high level at his age, man, I don't even know, like, words I could use to describe him,” Porzingis said. “Everybody loves him. And he gave everything to this team. He deserves it more than anybody.”
That's the running theme. Everyone loves Horford, and he deserves the ring more than anyone. Horford has been an inspiration to so many, either on the team, on the coaching staff, front office, and the fans who see the work he’s put in. He’s been an inspiration to his family and his country.
Oh there will be plenty of Dominican flags along the parade route. You can bet on that.
You can also bet on a ton of love for Horford tomorrow, this summer, next season, and beyond. He missed out on rings in the past, but he’s worked as hard as any champion before him. The ring is validation, but it’s also a reward.
And somehow, it still doesn’t feel like enough.
“It's been an honor to be by his side,” Brown said. “Al Horford is a real-life legend and hero. It's been great to be his teammate.”
