Al Horford is often viewed as the Boston Celtics’ mild-mannered veteran presence.
Though the leaders on Boston’s roster are primarily in their 20’s and have done almost everything there is to do in the NBA together, Horford is an older and more stoic presence in the Celtics locker room. That doesn’t mean he can’t talk a little bit of trash, however.
In fact, Celtics fans have caught on to Horford’s propensity to make a “T” signal with his hands whenever Boston goes on a run and forces its opponent to call a timeout. He told Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston about the troll tactic prior to Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“It brings me a lot of joy. It brings me happiness, it does,” Horford said, per Twitter video. “I guess you can say that’s trash talk. I’m not really talking but I guess it is. I don’t really know, again, when this came up. When I’m out there in the game I’m obviously so focused and locked in on the things I need to do, but I also enjoy the process.
“I’m not the most demonstrative person at times, but sometimes I do stuff and the guys catch on to it. They like it and I just kind of keep it going. I don’t do it every time, but when it comes out it comes out. When I’m doing all that I’m really having fun with my guys. It’s not about the other team, I’m looking at the bench and the guys are going crazy all excited so that’s what I’m about there.”
The move, though tough to notice when watching on TV, has become a popular thing for the Celtics bench to mirror back toward Horford when walking toward the sideline.
Boston hasn’t exactly been the most vocal team this season, but the veteran leadership from Horford and the likes of Blake Griffin and even Luke Kornet have helped keep things light for the Celtics. Who knows, maybe Horford’s trolling will help spark an energy shift.
