The Golden State Warriors waited all offseason to sign former Celtics center Al Horford to a two-year, $11.6 million contract. He was their top free agency target, but the Warriors had Jonathan Kuminga business to settle first. Horford was (and is) on board with Golden State's vision, but there is one thing that would've prevented him from joining the Warriors.
Horford told ESPN's Anthony Slater that if he didn't win his first title with the Celtics in 2024, he doesn't think he'd be with the Warriors. You might be wondering how those two things are correlated, but it actually goes back to 2022, when Golden State beat Boston in the 2022 NBA Finals.
There's the saying that if you can't beat them, you join them, but that wouldn't have been the case for what Slater referred to as Horford's "worst heartbreak." Horford told Slater, "I think it would've been too hard for me as a competitor just because of how I operate. So I just don't think I could have."
So, you can call Horford the anti-Kevin Durant, but hey, the Warriors benefitted from that, too!
Al Horford's competitive fire could've kept him from the Warriors
Golden State didn't know it at the time, but in June of 2024, the Celtics' title win helped the Warriors out. Between that and Boston not wanting to venture into the second tax apron — especially not after the Jayson Tatum Achilles injury in the 2024 playoffs — Horford made his way to The Bay.
The players that he watched celebrate a title in 2022 are now his teammates. Horford will do what he can to help Golden State win another title with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, as well as Jimmy Butler's first. He's the stretch five the Warriors have been looking for — specifically Green, who has said it can be taxing for him to play the five as he grows older.
Horford's two-year deal, which has a player option for the 2026-27 season, aligns with Curry, Green, and Butler's contracts. Time is ticking for Golden State to win another championship with Curry and Green, two of the key players from its dynasty days. The Warriors finally took charge and maximized their chances by trading for Butler and signing Horford a few months later.
Maybe by the time Horford steps away from the NBA, his biggest memory of the Warriors and the NBA Finals won't be what happened to him in 2022, but about winning a second title.