Al Horford Recalls Career-Changing Conversation After NBA Finals Win

There’s nothing like winning a championship in Boston, and Danny Ainge wanted to send that message to Al Horford prior to his Celtics tenure.

Horford had a free agent meeting with Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and Ainge in 2016. The first thing that jumped out to the then 30-year-old was Grousbeck’s championship ring from 2008.

“(Horford and his agent) just kept looking at this enormous ring on (Grousbeck’s) hand,” Horford said, as reported by NBC Sports Boston. “We both after the meeting were like ‘Did you notice that?'”

In the meeting, Ainge gave a message to Horford that cemented him coming to Boston.

“(Ainge) said, ‘You can win championships in many places, but there’s nothing like winning in Boston, nothing like winning as a Celtic,'” Horford said. “And that stuck with me from that meeting and I was like, ‘Man, I’m trying to be great and that’s what I want.'”

Horford’s teammates knew how much winning the Finals meant to him, giving him high praise throughout the Celtics’ championship celebration.

Now with the center getting a ring and championship of his own, he has done exactly what he wanted to do since that meeting in 2016.