The Boston Celtics officially bade farewell to Al Horford on Wednesday when the 18-year veteran signed with the Golden State Warriors in a long-expected move. As the Celtics try to figure out a new path forward after a disappointing end to the 2024-25 season, Horford will take his talents to the West Coast to try and compete for a title.
Late last month, Horford penned a goodbye message to the city of Boston on social media.
“From the moment we arrived, you have welcomed by family and I with open arms,” Horford wrote. “This chapter in my career will hold a special place in my heart. Raising Banner 18 with this city will be a moment I will always cherish. I am forever grateful for the fans and the organization. Thank you, Boston.”
Sean Grande, the longtime radio voice of the Celtics, responded to Horford’s announcement with a post of his own: “42 to the rafters is very much in play.”
Grande followed that up with a reply: “For those who struggle with reading comprehension … and that number seems disturbingly high … an Al Horford number retirement is absolutely IN PLAY … you’ve lost touch with Celtics reality if you think it’s not. If you read “it will” or “it should” happen, get better at reading.”
Few know the Celtics organization and its history as well as Grande. If he thinks Horford has a chance to have his number retired, then it’s something we should consider. So, let’s examine Horford’s case. Does he deserve to join the ranks of all-time icons in the rafters of TD Garden?
Horford’s Celtics journey
During the league-altering summer of 2016, Horford left the Hawks, who drafted him No. 3 overall in 2007, to sign with the Celtics in free agency. His arrival, on a four-year, $113 million deal, heralded a new era for the Celtics.
In Horford’s first season, he helped Boston win 53 games and reach the Eastern Conference finals. While they weren’t true contenders that season, they won their first playoff series since the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett-Ray Allen era and re-established themselves as one of the league’s premier franchises.
The next summer, the Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum, signed Gordon Hayward in free agency, and traded Isaiah Thomas for Kyrie Irving. Neither Hayward nor Irving ever really panned out in Boston, but those moves, which set the Celtics on their current path, would not have happened without Horford already in town.
Horford was an All-Star in 2018, made the All-Defensive Second Team and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting as the Celtics won 55 games and pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the Eastern Conference finals. He was arguably even better in 2019, though he received no such accolades and the Celtics crashed out in the second round of the playoffs in large part due to rough performances from Irving and Hayward against the Milwaukee Bucks.
In the summer of 2019, Horford stunned everyone in Boston when he opted out of the final year of his contract and left for the Celtics’ long-time rival, the Philadelphia 76ers, who gave him a four-year, $109 million deal in free agency.
Two years later, after a disastrous stint in Philly, and what was essentially a season in exile in Oklahoma City, Brad Stevens — who had moved from the bench into the Celtics’ front office by this point — traded for Horford to bring him back to Boston. Horford was entering his age-35 season when the Celtics re-acquired him, and the move was as much about moving off of Kemba Walker’s contract to create financial flexibility as it was about Horford’s ability to still contribute.
Horford proved he still had plenty left in the tank.
In 2021, the Celtics went .500 and lost in the first round. In 2022, Horford’s first season back with the team, they won 51 games and advanced to the Finals for the first time since 2010. Though they lost to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, the Celtics showed they were a real threat to win it all. Horford, who received Defensive Player of the Year votes in 2022, was incredible during the postseason.
Horford remained the full-time starter in 2023 as the Celtics won 57 games and returned to the Eastern Conference finals. Their hopes of getting back to the Finals ended there, however, in a bizarre series with the Miami Heat in which they went down 3-0, won the next three to force Game 7, then got blown out at home after Tatum sprained his ankle on the first play.
Ahead of the 2024 season, the Celtics made two major moves with an eye on finally getting over the hump. They traded for Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis, the latter of whom replaced Horford in the starting lineup — at least initially. Horford made 33 starts during the regular season, and after the Latvian went down with a calf strain in the first round of the playoffs, he started the rest of the postseason. The Celtics went all the way with Horford as a starter and won Banner 18, their first title since 2008 and the first of Horford’s career.
The Celtics’ title defense in 2025, however, did not go to plan. Horford, who again ended up starting the majority of games — both in the regular season and playoffs — in place of Porziņģis, took a noticeable step back in his age-38 campaign. Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the team’s second-round series to the New York Knicks, which they went on to lose in six games.
If Tatum had stayed healthy, there’s a good chance Horford retires as a Celtic. Instead, he left the team in free agency for the second time. There’s nothing wrong with Horford’s decision — the Celtics aren’t going to be very good this season and he only has so many years left — but it is fair to say that leaving again slightly complicates his legacy with the franchise.
Overall, though, Horford will be remembered extremely fondly in Boston. He helped re-legitimize the organization, taught Tatum and Brown how to be professionals and was a major part of one of the most successful eras in franchise history. He was the ultimate teammate, a beloved figure in the locker room and the community, and a champion.
Nothing sums up Horford’s tenure better than this quote from Tatum in 2022.
“Al is for sure one of the best teammates I’ve ever had at any level,” Tatum said. “We wouldn’t be who we are without Al Horford.”
Horford’s Celtics résumé
- 7 seasons
- 7 playoff appearances
- 1 championship
- 2 Finals appearances
- 6 Eastern Conference finals appearances
- 72 playoff wins
- 1 All-Star appearance
- 1 All-Defensive Second Team
- Regular season averages of 11.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 blocks on 48.4/38.8/81.5 shooting splits
- Playoff averages of 11.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 blocks on 50.0/39.9/79.4 shooting splits
How Horford’s résumé compares to Celtics legends
The Celtics have retired 24 numbers — more than any other franchise — though only 22 are players and only 23 are actual numbers.
- 00: Robert Parish
- 1: Walter Brown (owner)
- 2: Red Auerbach (coach, general manager, president)
- 3: Dennis Johnson
- 5: Kevin Garnett
- 6: Bill Russell
- 10: JoJo White
- 14: Bob Cousy
- 15: Tommy Heinsohn
- 16: Tom “Satch” Sanders
- 17: John Havlicek
- 18: Dave Cowens
- 19: Don Nelson
- 21: Bill Sharman
- 22: Ed Macauley
- 23: Frank Ramsey
- 24: Sam Jones
- 25: KC Jones
- 31: Cedric Maxwell
- 32: Kevin McHale
- 33: Larry Bird
- 34: Paul Pierce
- 35: Reggie Lewis
- LOSCY: Jim Loscutoff
There’s no reason to go through every single player on the list.
Horford’s Celtics résumé obviously does not match up to inner-circle Hall of Famers such as Russell, Cousy, Bird, Cowens and Havlicek. Nor did he have the numerous titles or longevity of franchise icons like Heinsohn, Johnson, both Joneses, Loscutoff, Macauley, McHale, Nelson, Ramsey, Sanders, Sharman, Parish, Pierce and White. Tragically, Lewis’ number was retired after his sudden death due to a heart condition early in his promising career.
The closest comps to Horford are Garnett and Maxwell. Let’s take a closer look at their time with the Celtics, and how Horford compares.
|
Seasons |
6 |
7 |
8 |
|
Playoff trips |
5 |
7 |
6 |
|
Titles |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Finals appearances |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
ECF appearances |
3 |
6 |
5 |
|
Playoff wins |
49 |
72 |
48 |
|
All-Star appearances |
5 |
1 |
— |
|
Major accolades |
1 DPOY |
— |
1 Finals MVP |
|
All-NBA honors |
1 |
— |
— |
|
All-Defensive honors |
4 |
1 |
— |
|
PPG |
15.7 |
11.2 |
13.7 |
|
RPG |
8.3 |
6.8 |
6.6 |
|
APG |
2.7 |
3.6 |
2.3 |
|
SPG |
1.2 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
|
BPG |
1 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
Should Horford have his number retired?
Horford was not as good of a player as Garnett, and he does not have the Finals MVP trophy that Maxwell boasts. But he has more playoff trips, more Eastern Conference finals appearances and more playoff wins than either of them. In fact, Horford’s 72 playoff wins are tied for the 10th-most in franchise history.
If Horford had retired as a Celtic, his chances having his number retired would certainly be higher, but he didn’t leave on bad terms like Ray Allen did. Allen, notably, is the only member of the Big Three from the 2008 title team that does not have his number in the rafters. That group only won one title, just as Horford, Tatum and Brown did.
It’s also worth noting that the Celtics now have a new owner. Bill Chisholm, who officially took over earlier this year, has made it clear time and again that he’s a legitimate fan. The Massachusetts native said at his introductory press conference last month that he and his wife have “raised a family of diehard Celtics fans.” Chisholm will fully understand Horford’s impact on the franchise.
Considering Horford’s résumé, importance to the franchise and relationship with the city and fanbase, his No. 42 deserves to be raised once his playing days are over.