Retirement Talk? Al Horford Makes Position Clear On Playing Career

Boston Celtics center Al Horford could have rode off into the sunset this offseason on the high of winning his first NBA title.

But the thought of retiring never entered Horford's mind.

"I don't think there was ever a question that I was going to not come back or anything like that," Horford said earlier this week at Celtics media day.

With retirement talk on the backburner, the 38-year-old Horford gets set for his 18th NBA season and seventh season with the Celtics.

It's clear Horford, a five-time All-Star, is no longer at the height of his powers. He took on a reduced role last season, coming off the bench for the first time in his career after the Celtics handed over the starting center job to Kristaps Porzingis.

Horford was still serviceable in his role as he averaged a career low in points (8.6) while his 6.4 rebounds per game was the second-lowest mark of his career. But the savvy veteran was still an astute defender and shot 41.9% from beyond the arc on four attempts per game.

It's hard to imagine Horford offering more than that this season given the mileage he piled up on his body not only in his career, but during Boston's deep playoff run to a title. The Celtics, who in years past have tried to keep Horford's workload down by not playing him in back-to-backs, might look to count on Horford more early in the season, too, with Porzingis recovering from offseason ankle surgery. Porzingis is aiming for a December return.

While the production from Horford, who keeps himself in a tremendous shape year in and year out, is slipping, he doesn't see an end in sight to his career just yet. So, there might not a sunset to drive off into. Horford might just keep going until the wheels just fall off.

"For me, and I've said this before, I never put a limit of how long I'm going to play," Horford said. "I feel good and I'm very fortunate to be in this position and I give God the glory for that. And to be in this position to be able to continue to play and be on this team, it's been a lot of years that we've been fighting to get to this point.

"And now that we're here, just fortunate to be here and wear a Celtics uniform. I'm just going to keep playing and that's what that is."