Though he had to wait for months to officially announce it, the Golden State Warriors were always the only team Al Horford considered signing with in free agency. Retirement, he didn’t consider at all.
Horford has played 18 seasons in the NBA since the Atlanta Hawks made him the No. 3 pick in the 2007 Draft, after he won two straight titles at the University of Florida. But he told reporters that he never considered retiring in the offseason, though the Warriors were the only team he would have left the Boston Celtics for.
“It wasn’t an easy decision for me to leave Boston,” said Horford. “But if there was the place, that was this one, and it happened and I happened to give this opportunity, so I jumped at it.”
Horford was excited to join the Warriors to play with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler, all of whom he’d battled with in playoff series in recent years. He specifically mentioned how good the team was after trading for Butler at the deadline, when they closed the season winning 23 of 30 games that Butler played.
“I think about…what he did in that second half of the season last year after the trade and how they’re playing,” Horford explained.
Al Horford said he never ultimately considered retirement and would’ve only left Boston for this opportunity with the Warriors pic.twitter.com/8RUQlcS4mp
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 1, 2025
While Horford initially thought he’d be staying with the Celtics, that changed after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon during the team’s second-round loss to the New York Knicks. Suddenly, the expensive Celtics were in payroll-cutting mode, trading Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks. Boston seemed to content to take a “gap year” to trim their massive tax bill and possibly get under the luxury tax, and Horford was a luxury they couldn’t afford in a year where they aren’t really going for it.
Not only does Horford get to hang out with a starting lineup that’s almost all guys his own age, who can talk about being alive before the Super Nintendo was available in the United States, his contract has a player option for 2026-27. In other words, he can always go back to Boston and rejoin his old friends.
Until then, Steve Kerr and the Warriors are excited to have a stretch big man like Horford, who played center and power forward in Boston. That means he can make up for the lack of outside shooting from forwards Butler, Green, and the newly-resigned Jonathan Kuminga, while also playing the four if Trayce Jackson-Davis or Quinten Post is on the court.
“It’s huge to not only to have a space 5, but it’s not just any space 5 — it’s Al Horford,” Kerr said told reporters. “He rebounds, defends, smart, good passer … just watching him today, you can see the fit, how smooth it is.”
And not only did Horford choose that fit, he didn’t waver even when he had to wait until the night before media day to announce it. Just one more reason he’s so smooth.
