Exploring Al Horford’s career transformation with the Boston Celtics

When current Boston Celtics defensive anchor Al Horford finished his laudable college career at the University of Florida, he was a highly touted prospect for the next level. He entered the NBA draft as a junior in 2007 and was selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks. The consensus was he was a hard-working, quality defensive big, that moved well for his size and could hit some mid-rangers. His comparisons were Horace Grant and Carlos Boozer.

There is little to no mention of his potential as a shooter from 3-point range in his draft profiles. If anything, his shooting consistency was listed as a weakness by Matthew Maurer on NBADraft.net. Today, in his 16th season, Horford has the second-best 3-point percentage in the league at 45.7% (best among bigs) attempting five per game.

Looking at his career as a whole it’s a remarkable case of player adaptability. Horford, nearly 37, is one of few left in his draft class that is still playing. Other than Kevin Durant, every player still on a roster is in the declining phase of their career. While Horford is no exception to this, it is exceptional that he’s managed to carve out what might be looked at as a second prime, that is absolutely attributable to his shooting.

Horford was thought to have been near done when he was reacquired by the Boston Celtics. After a free-agency move to Philadelphia that didn’t go well, and being shut down by OKC in 2021, the fate of his career was unclear. That is until newly promoted Cs GM Brad Stevens made the trade for him. What he brought off the court was of course invaluable and well known, but it was uncertain what he would be able to provide on the court. The move turned out to be a massive success, and Horford has only improved in the second year of his second Boston term.

Al Horford has adapted to aging in second Boston Celtics stint

The few skills that have faded from Al’s bag due to age are more than made up for with his ability to spread the floor. Drilling down to his shooting stats year by year it’s outstanding how he got to this point. Until his third all-star season, 2015 where he only attempted 36, he hadn’t even attempted more than 20 3-pointers.

Then there is a huge shift. He didn’t slowly start adding more distance shots as the game evolved, it was a revolution.

With the exception of the OKC year, he’s attempted over 200 in every season from 2016 on, and nearing 300 this year. Obviously, this was a conscious choice. Horford worked on his shooting as soon as the offseason started in 2015.

“It started the day we finished playing,” he said. “It’s a point of emphasis that I made. I want to be better.” KL Chouinard reported in October of 2015. “I always try to work on things in the summer. I have gotten a chance to work on those shots. I never want to shoot a shot if I haven’t worked on it. I feel comfortable with it. I understand that I have to be near the paint, (working) pick-and-rolls, working around the basket, but I want to be able to have the ability that if I need to shoot those shots, to take them.”

Today, Horford isn’t shooting when needed, he’s a first class spot up shooter. 2023 being his highest attempts per game and highest percentage of his career. His shooting isn’t just an added facet of his game, but an equal proponent that other teams need to scheme for.

“He’s constantly trying to find small ways to reinvent his game,” Head Coach Joe Mazzulla told Boston.com. “And what he does you can’t even put into words what he means to our team.”

Going into the playoffs this opens up the offensive system even more so than it did last year. With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both also upping their games this season, it gives them more space to work with when they need it plus another option to kick out to. Having a spot up shooter jump up ten percentage points that can also exist in the dunker spot if needed is a lot for a defense to keep up with. Not to mention that Al isn’t limited to shooting from the corners. His ability to shoot from the top or the breaks gives the team more versatility with their offensive actions.

All of this has given Al a role that wasn’t expected this far in his career. Within his draft class no other player is still starting and playing over 50 games for a championship contender. What Horford brings to this Boston Celtics team still doesn’t show up in a stat sheet overall. But the shooting numbers on that stat sheet are still outstanding.