When Al Horford elected to leave the Boston Celtics in the 2025 NBA offseason, there were few grumbles from the fanbase given the sort of summer the Celtics were having. The team made it clear that reducing payroll to escape second apron penalties in a season star forward Jayson Tatum was not expected to play much, if at all. Along with Horford, Luke Kornet decamped, signing with the San Antonio Spurs. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks, respectively.
The consensus seemed to be that Boston would take a step back, and the Florida alum made a decision to sign with the Dubs in that context, but never really explained why he made the move to Celtics fans. Since, Horford has made a few comments that have done little to clarify the reasoning for that exit, but in his end-of-season interview this week, the Dominican big man spoke some more on why he left Boston. “That’s a question that kind of stayed out there, open-ended,” said Horford via MassLive’s Brian Robb. “What I meant by that was a lot of times, when people are making decisions, there are also things you see and the things that make sense for the human eye (…).”
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“The way that I operate and have carried my career is through my faith,” he added. “When I went to Boston 10 years ago, Boston wasn’t what it was now. They were in the middle, they just lost to the (Atlanta) Hawks and I was on the Hawks and we beat them. There were other places I could have gone that would have put me in a better position but I chose to go to Boston and take that chance. I took it because of my faith. Because that was the place for me that I felt I needed to be.”
Apr 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Golden State Warriors center Al Horford (20) against the Phoenix Suns during the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
“When all of this happened, I knew it was time for me to move on,” Horford continued. “Nothing to do with Boston but again, following my faith, my belief. “
“I knew I had to go elsewhere and when I looked at it, I felt like here was a place for me to be able to do things. Sometimes it’s bigger than basketball for me, that’s what I meant by that. There are other things I need to do and accomplish and that’s why that decision was made. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to leave Boston since for me, I was very happy there with my family and everything. I just felt like I knew it was the right time and this was the next challenge and step for me. Now I’m here and it’s going to be interesting to see what happens now.”
“I have to be able to embrace this new challenge that I have,” said the Boston big man alum. That response might not get Celtics fans the closure they would have liked, but Horford also suggested he’d fill us in with greater detail in the future. Is there more here in terms of discontent? Or just doing business in the NBA?
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Time, perhaps, will tell — if Al chooses to, anyhow.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Al Horford sheds more light on why he left Celtics for Warriors