Al Horford Scoffs at Possibility of Retirement

Matt John | Sep 24, 2024

Sep 24, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) talks to reporters during media day at Auerbach Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

When the Boston Celtics won the title, speculation soon erupted that Al Horford would retire because of his age and that doing so would mean that he would go out on top. Horford quickly dismissed all of this shortly afterward. In fact, retirement isn’t really on his mind at all.

On Celtics Media Day, Horford commented on the retirement speculation, revealing his mindset regarding his NBA future.

“I don’t think there was ever a question that I wasn’t gonna not come back,” Horford said. “For me… I’ve never put a limit of how long I’m gonna play, so I feel good and very fortunate to be in the position… To be in this position, to be able to continue to play and be on 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 to wear this Celtics uniform. I’m just gonna keep playing, and that’s what that is.”

Horford is not playing at the same level he once did in his prime because he is older, which happens to every NBA player who has played as long as he has. However, he’s still shown to have enough juice left that it’d be foolish to think he’ll retire simply because of his age. If he’s still good enough to be a starting center on a title team, retirement doesn’t have to be an option if he doesn’t want to.

It’s clear how much the game matters to Horford that he’ll only stop playing when he knows he can’t do it anymore. Because he hasn’t shown any signs of this happening soon, he’s not going anywhere. Anyone still playing in the NBA at 38 years old would typically consider themselves lucky, but in Al Horford’s case, age is merely a number.

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