Al Horford

BIOGRAPHY

Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso was born on June 3, 1986, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. He is a power forward/center in the NBA.

Horford accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan and teamed up alongside Joakim Noah , Corey Brewer and Taurean Green. He made an immediate impact as a Gator 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. There they defeated George Mason to reach the final. In the final, they defeated UCLA for the 2006 championship behind Horford's 14 points and seven rebounds. On April 2, 2007, the Gators became the first team to repeat as national champions since the 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils, and the first ever to do so with the same starting lineup. Three days later, Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Taurean 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. As a rookie in 2007–08, Horford was the only player unanimously selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

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. 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, he 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 was named Third-Team All-NBA.

In 2012–13, Horford started all 74 games he played in, averaging a career-high 17.4 points, career-high 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals in 37.2 minutes.

In 2014–15, Horford played in 76 regular season games, the most since the 2010–11 season. On January 29, he earned his third All-Star nod as a reserve for the Eastern Conference in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game. The Hawks finished the regular season with the best record in the East at 60–22, and advanced through to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

On July 1, 2016, Horford became an unrestricted free agent. The Hawks were optimistic they could reach a new deal with Horford, but after the team committed much of their salary cap to pick up Dwight Howard, it would have taken a max offer to land Horford. Horford signed a four-year, $113 million contract with the Boston Celtics on July 8, and said he was looking forward to working with Celtics head coach Brad Stevens and the rest of the team to bring a championship trophy back to Boston. The Celtics went on to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated in seven games by the Cavaliers.

On July 10, 2019, Horford signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. An unrestricted free agent, Horford signed a four-year, $97 million, with $12 million in bonuses, contract. 

On December 8, 2020, Horford was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. On March 27, 2021, the Thunder announced that he would sit out the rest of the season as the team prioritized developing its younger players.

On June 18, 2021, Horford was traded to Boston, from the Thunder.