Al Horford Calls Blake Griffin ‘Hall of Fame Player’ After Retirement

Jack Simone | Apr 17, 2024

Dec 25, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics power forward Blake Griffin (91). / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

After year-long hope of a potential Boston Celtics return, Blake Griffin declared his retirement from the game of basketball on Tuesday.

Griffin’s final days on the NBA hardwood came with the Celtics during the 2022-23 season. He appeared in 41 games, but more notably, he helped spearhead the Bus One Boys. 

As valuable as his minutes were on the court, his mentality and vivacious personality were the most important things he brought to the table in Boston.

Boston big man Al Horford spoke about Griffin after his announcement, dishing out some very high praise, calling him a “Hall of Fame player.”

“Man, great teammate. Everybody here, we love Blake,” Horford said. “There was a long hope that maybe he was going to be around in some way. Just just a lot of good memories with him. He made [the] year that he was here, he made it enjoyable for me. It was just fun to come in and work with him every day and getting to talk to him and getting to know him with some of the things off the court. And him as a person. Just a great guy. 

“So, definitely [a] Hall of Fame player with everything that he's accomplished. And I'll make sure that I reach out to him. At some point, we'll celebrate, because he had an unbelievable career.”

Though Boston’s longing for Griffin to don the green one last time proved unsuccessful, the respect they all have for the 13-year NBA veteran remains unchanged.

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