Al Horford has become the first Dominican player to win an NBA championship in the history of the league. His team, the Boston Celtics, closed out the 2024 NBA Finals Monday night (June 17) with a Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks, 106-88.
“It’s been long; a lot of hard work,” Horford, 38, said during the presentation of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. “I’m so proud to be a part of this team and that it happened now. La gloria de Dios.”
Horford, who waved a Dominican flag during the celebration, added: “I still can’t believe it. We did it. We’re here. This is just how I pictured it.”
Born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Horford has been in the NBA for 17 seasons. His father, Tito Horford, played in the NBA for three seasons and was in the stand tonight cheering on his son.
Horford started his NBA career in 2007. He was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks and played there for nine seasons before joining the Celtics in 2016 where he played for three seasons. After a single season playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and another for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Horford returned to the Celtics in 2021.
This is the 18th NBA title for the Celtics, the most of any NBA team. After the victory, Celtics star Jason Tatum called Horford his “favorite teammate of all time.”
“He don’t have much time left out here,” Tatum said. “He paved the way for a lot of us. It means the world to us to share this with him.”
Along with his first NBA championship, Al Horford is a five-time NBA All-Star. He also won the NCAA championship as a junior and senior playing for the University of Florida.