Golden State Warriors center Al Horford has opened up recently on why he wanted to join his new team and in explaining his move across the country, he threw some subtle shade at his former team in the Boston Celtics.
In The Athletic, Horford spoke about how he hopes Golden State will be his last NBA stop. He also said he wanted to join a true contender as he explained why he wanted to join the Warriors:
"There was two things there. I think the financial part was a component, but more than that, it was the winning part of it, trying to contend for a championship," Horford said.
Horford believes Warriors present better chance to win a title than Celtics
After Celtics star Jayson Tatum went down with an injury in the playoffs last season, it is hard to see them being true contenders in the 2025-26 campaign. Sure, they still have potential All-Stars in Jaylen Brown and perhaps even Derrick White, along with solid players like Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons, but it is difficult to see them making a deep run without their star player and with a very limited center rotation.
That is why it makes sense that Horford decided to leave the Celtics in favor of Golden State.
The fact that he will be joining the Warriors on a multi-year deal is exactly what Warriors fans will want to hear. Even though the 39-year-old may not be as spry as he once was, he should fit in very nicely with the core group of veterans that Golden State already has assembled on the roster with Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler comprising the core trio.
There is always the risk that the Warriors will have to over-rely on Horford given the defense he brings to the table, but it will fall on head coach Steve Kerr to manage the veteran's workload and ensure that he does not get worn out by the end of the season.
Still, the fact that Horford came here because he wants to win a championship is exactly what fans will want to hear. The 5x All-Star was on the wrong side of the 2022 NBA Finals between Boston and Golden State, but now he has a chance to be on the right side and help deliver the fifth championship in the last eleven years for the Warriors.