'Not Happy about It': Horford Shares New Motivational Source After First Championship

Rob Greene | 3 Hours Ago

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

It took Al Horford 17 years and 186 playoff games to become an NBA champion. It's the most postseason tilts played before lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy. While he's now reached the league's mountain top, there's a source of motivation that still fuels the likely future Hall of Famer.

“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 told Boston Celtics on SI. “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.

"We’re really trying to be the best that we can, so being in that type of environment, it’s motivation. 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.”

As Horford stated multiple times throughout the offseason, at media day at the Auerbach Center, he reiterated that he had no intention of walking off into the sunset after capturing his first championship.

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

Since the start of the Tatum-Brown era, Horford has been like a father figure to the star tandem. He’s watched them grow from kids learning in their first few years in the Association to veteran leaders that set the tone and embody the culture of the franchise.

Seeing what happened to Tatum in Paris and Brown get snubbed from Team USA did not sit well with Horford this summer.

“I personally was not happy about it,” Horford told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. “Those guys, they’re very special to me, and even though it was nothing against me, it motivated me and all of us for this season.”

It's another source of fuel for a unified locker room whose title defense has turned into a revenge tour.

Further Reading

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Jayson Tatum Discusses Balancing MVP and Title Chase and His Excitement to Start Over

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