Background and career
Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso (born June 3, 1986), nicknamed "Big Al", is a Dominican professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star and an NBA champion. Horford played college basketball for the Florida Gators and was the starting center on their back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championship teams in 2006 and 2007. He was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, with whom he played nine seasons before signing with the Celtics as a free agent in the 2016 offseason. After three seasons in Boston, Horford played for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded back to the Celtics prior to the 2021 season. He reached the NBA Finals with the Celtics in 2022 and 2024, winning his first NBA title in 2024.
Horford was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. His father, Tito Horford, played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three years and several more in other countries. In 2000, Horford and his family moved to Lansing, Michigan, where he attended Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge, Michigan, and was a star on its basketball team. Horford holds seven school records, including most career points (1,239). As a senior, he was named "Class A Player of the Year" after averaging 21 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks per game. While at Grand Ledge, Horford played AAU basketball for the Michigan Mustangs, who were runners-up in the Adidas Big Time National Tournament. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the No. 7 power forward and the No. 36 player in the nation in 2004.
Horford accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, choosing the Gators over Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. There, he played for coach Billy Donovan and teamed up alongside Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green. Horford made an immediate impact for the Gators in 2004–05, starting at center in the front court with David Lee, and helped the Gators win the 2005 Southeastern Conference tournament championship. The Gators surged through the 2005–06 season, winning the SEC championship for a second straight year. They entered the 2006 NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Gators swept through the first four rounds to reach the Final Four, then defeated Cinderella team George Mason to reach the championship game, where they defeated UCLA for the school's first national title behind Horford's 14 points and seven rebounds.
In December 2006, midway through his junior year, Horford missed a series of games due to injury. Coach Donovan held him out of a game against Stetson in hopes that he would be adequately healed for a game in Gainesville against the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on December 23. Though Donovan had previously announced that Horford would be unable to play, Horford entered the game from the bench to guard Ohio State's star freshman Greg Oden, holding him to seven points, well below his season average of 15. Horford recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds in limited action as the Gators defeated the Buckeyes. On March 4, 2007, in the final home game of the season against Kentucky, he became the fourth player on his team to score 1,000 career points, scoring exactly the required 14 points to reach the milestone. On April 2, 2007, the Gators repeated as national champions, becoming the first team to do so since the 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils, and the first ever to do so with the same starting lineup (Horford, Noah, Brewer, Green, and Lee Humphrey). They defeated Oden and Mike Conley Jr. in a rematch of the regular season, by a score of Gators 84, Buckeyes 75. Three days later, Horford, Noah, Brewer, and Green all declared for the NBA draft.
On June 28, 2007, Horford was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. On July 9, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Hawks. As a rookie in 2007–08, Horford was the only player unanimously selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team; he was also runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors and was named Rookie of the Month on four occasions. Horford became the first Atlanta draftee to earn first team honors since Stacey Augmon in 1991–92. Horford averaged 10.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 blocks, 0.7 steals and 31.4 minutes in 81 games (77 starts). The Hawks finished the regular season with a 37–45 record and entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. In their first round match-up with the Boston Celtics, Horford helped the Hawks take the eventual champions to seven games, losing the series 4–3. In the series, Horford averaged 12.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
In 2008–09, Horford started all 67 games he played, averaging 11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.8 steals in 33.5 minutes. With a 47–35 record, the Hawks entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the East. Horford helped the Hawks advance to the second round where they were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers; Horford missed Game 2 of the series due to injury. Horford had an outstanding season in 2009–10, becoming the first Hawks draft pick to earn an All-Star berth since Kevin Willis did so in 1992. Horford contributed 14.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.7 steals in 35.1 minutes (.551 FG%, .789 FT%), appearing in 81 games. He ranked eighth in the NBA in field goal percentage, 10th in rebounds, tied for ninth in offensive rebounds (2.9), and 26th in blocks. Horford had a team-leading 39 double-doubles, which was tied for 11th in the NBA. Playing alongside Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams, the Hawks entered the playoffs as the third seed in the East with a 53–29 record. However, the team again suffered a second-round sweep, this time at the hands of the Orlando Magic. On November 1, 2010, Horford signed a five-year, $60 million contract extension with the Hawks. During the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend, Horford was an All-Star for the second straight year, and he was also a member of the Atlanta team that won the Shooting Stars Competition. In 77 games in 2010–11, Horford posted averages of 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 steals (.557 FG%, .500 3FG%, .798 FT%). He ranked fifth in the NBA in field goal percentage, 28th in blocks and 16th in efficiency (22.5). Horford was also one of the top all-around rebounders in the league, finishing 11th in rebounds, seventh in defensive rebounds (7.0) and tied for 24th in offensive rebounds (2.4). He had 36 double-doubles (tied for ninth in NBA), including one 20/20 game. He was named Third-Team All-NBA. With a 44–38 record, the Hawks entered the playoffs as the fifth seed in the East. They reached the second round again, where they lost 4–2 to the Chicago Bulls.
