There’s a lot to be grateful for as a Celtics fan.
On Sunday night, Naz Reid launched a desperation three-pointer to beat Boston. It lipped out and a boyish Al Horford jumped in joy and pumped his fists as the Celtics escaped with a 107-105 win over the Timberwolves.
In the grand scheme of things, a November game against Minnesota doesn’t matter much. It means even less in the grand span of the veteran’s eighteen career. But tell that to Horford who is in the final year of his contract and chasing back-to-back championships at age 38.
“I always just kind of want to keep pushing and just compete. I’m a competitor, I love to compete, I love to get after it, and I’m very fortunate like I said just to be in this position right now,” Horford said at Media Day.
With just under a quarter of the regular season played, it’s too early to speculate on whether this could be Horford’s final season. We’ll have time to argue whether or not he’s done enough in Celtic green to raise #42 up to the rafters. For now, let’s just be thankful for the seven years he’s graced the parquet.
Today’s holiday is certainly about thanksgiving, being grateful for all the fruits and blessings of our lives. For Celtics fans, those gifts are obvious. As a free agent signing in 2016 to pair with the upstart success of Isaiah Thomas to his eventual return and re-teaming with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, he’s not just delivered so many clutch performances in the postseason and eventually Banner 18, but the transformation of his game from a traditional big man on the block to a floor-stretching, switch-everything center has been one of the primary catalysts of the team’s pioneering in the modern NBA.
However, today is also about family and foundation. We’re to be thankful of them too, for sure, but oftentimes, those sentiments can be underappreciated. Those generational ties are invisible yet indivisible. And for that, I am forever thankful for Al Horford.
“It’s the opportunity that we have, the team that we have, the group of guys that we have, we have a group that I feel that embodies what being a Celtic is all about,” Horford said. “Guys’ commitment, willingness to (the) team, to play the right way; we have a group here that gets it. That’s gonna come into work everyday and work really hard.”
Culture setters in the NBA and professional sports at large are few and far between. All-Star teams and All-NBA honors are debated every year because you can make an argument for so many different players. But to find players (and coaches) that will just link your team’s history to the present and assure its tradition for the future is very rare. There might be a dozen in the league right now. As a Celtic, he’s simultaneously displayed the quiet selflessness of Bill Russell and the Larry Bird’s fiery competitiveness.
Thanks, Big Al.