Al Horford was instrumental in the Celtics’ NBA Finals Game 1 win, as his six 3-pointers helped Boston take down the Golden State Warriors.
But had Horford not taken a certain tip from Rick Sund to heart, he might not have flourished from beyond the arc Thursday night at Chase Center. In fact, there’s a chance the 36-year-old would be out of the league.
Horford wasn’t all that interested in his game featuring a 3-point shot when he first broke into the league with the Hawks in 2007. But Sund, Atlanta’s general manager from 2008 to 2012, pushed Horford to start working on long-range shots.
“Rick is the one that told me, ‘Man, you have a really good mid-range. You should start shooting corner threes, that’s going to help extend your career,'” Horford told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes on Saturday. “I used to be a banger down low and posting up. He was like, ‘Man, you’re not going to last in this league if you keep playing like that.’ Rick Sund was the first to tell me.”
It was a gradual process, but Horford eventually put Sund’s suggestion into motion. The five-time All-Star attempted 200-plus 3-pointers in all but one season dating back to the 2015-16 campaign. Horford’s put up 82 threes over 18 games in the 2022 playoffs to date and boasts a very impressive 46.3% conversion clip.
Horford will try to boost that number Sunday night when the Celtics and the Warriors meet for Game 2 of their best-of-seven series.
