SAN FRANCISCO — There was a homecoming away from home on Thursday night. All the way across the country, in San Francisco, California, the 2024 Boston Celtics were back together again.
The Golden State Warriors are now home to two members of the Celtics’ 2024 NBA Championship roster: Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Both were thrilled to reunite with some of their former teammates.
“Just excited,” Horford said pre-game. “Just really excited to see everybody. Players, coaches, all the staff, security guys, everybody.”
“I don't care about these guys, honestly,” a sarcastic Porzingis said with a smile.
The very frontcourt that helped lead Boston to Banner 18 now suits up roughly 3,000 miles away. Horford inked a deal with the Warriors this summer, and Porzingis joined him in Golden State via a trade at the deadline.
For Horford, the chance to square off against his former team is fun, but basketball is far from the most important part of his relationship with them.
“Honestly, it's just— I was just out there with a lot of the coaching staff and the trainers. I was just more excited to see everybody,” Horford said. “Once the game starts, we'll go out there, I'll do what I need to do, we'll play, they're going to compete, I'm going to compete, and that's that.
“But I just think that the relationships and the bonds that we've built there over the past few years are things that go beyond the court. It's a great thing, because basketball has allowed us to all be together, and I end up having much more than just basketball.”
The same goes for Porzingis. Though his explanation of the on-court meeting was a bit more direct.
“I don't know. I wouldn't say there's any extra [juice behind the matchup],” Porzingis said. “Of course, they're like my brothers for life. But at the end [of the day], we're gonna go out there and compete. I'm gonna try to kill them, and they're gonna try to kill me. Obviously, this is how you say— Hyperbole, [yes]. Whatever. But we're gonna go out there and compete, play hard, and it's gonna be nice to compete against my old teammates, for sure.”
The losses of Porzingis and Horford were tough blows for Boston this past summer. But they were far from the only players who left the walls of TD Garden
Jrue Holiday was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. Luke Kornet signed with the San Antonio Spurs in free agency. And obviously, Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles in the second round of last year’s playoffs.
But despite that, Boston has remained an Eastern Conference powerhouse. And neither Horford nor Porzingis is surprised.
“Even last year, we had a lot of guys down throughout the year, and we were playing a lot of the times, missing a lot of players, and we were still winning a lot of games,” Horford said. “So, I feel like that was a blueprint right there. And this year, I just think that guys are comfortable playing in that situation. And the biggest thing is that everybody's bought into what Joe is telling them, and he's just running a really good program over there.
“Him and all those assistant coaches, they're really doing a good job getting the guys ready, getting them to commit and play at a high level, and that's why I feel like it's so smooth. But I think if you look at last year, there was a lot of times that KP was out, that Jrue [Holiday] was out, that different guys were out, and we were still getting results. So, that's why it's not surprising, their success.”
“Everybody thought like, a little bit less expectations. Not gonna be that good this year,” Porzingis said. “Some of the more most pessimistic ones were like, lottery team. But I never thought that. Even in our years, also, whenever somebody was out, just the culture that they already have there, you can't just have it disappear.
“Even if you maybe don't have the JT talent. But still, you have JB there leading the leading group. D-White, Payton, these guys are elite players. So, I knew they were going to be good. Maybe not second seed, but yeah.”
Led by a Jaylen Brown MVP campaign, the Celtics haven’t missed a beat. And even though Tatum has been out all season, rumors have begun to swirl about his potential return.
It’s a story Horford has monitored from afar. He couldn’t be prouder of his former teammate.
“Just so impressed with him, because from everything that I've heard from that type of injury, it's just extremely difficult,” Horford said. “And his mental strength is really showing there, because his ability to be at this point already, that he's practicing, and everybody's talking about that he's possibly going to play. And even if he doesn't play, just the fact that, how much progress he has made, and the way that he has come is very impressive.
“He's the type of guy that, he refused to sit, he always wanted to play, and he always wants to compete. So, it's just been so impressive, and it's such a tough injury that the medical group over there, I know, Nick Sans and all the medical staff over there, Phil Coles, they've been doing a really good job with him, because I don't think anybody expected that he was going to be at this level, so quickly. So, so I'm very, very proud of him, very proud to see that.”
And the veteran big man has been just as impressed by Brown.
“I’ve just seen him really wanting to embrace this. From afar. I haven't watched enough. But from what I can tell, he seems willing to embrace that, the responsibility, the pressure, the burden that comes with being that top option for the team,” Horford said.
“And he's just playing with a lot of confidence, and getting to his spots where he wants to get to, and just making winning plays kind of all over the place. So, I just think that, not only him, but D-White and Payton, it's the same thing. They're just very assertive, and they know what they need to do, and they're getting it done.”
Horford and Porzingis exited Boston via different paths (free agency and trade), but from the outside looking in, the reasoning seemed similar: The CBA.
Boston’s goal was clear: Get under the second apron. They wanted to shed enough salary to avoid being a second-apron team for a third year in a row, and they succeeded. But it cost them.
Horford hinted at some non-basketball reasons behind his departure, but noted that it was simply time for him to move on.
“Yeah, I mean, I kind of talked about that a little bit earlier, but for me, the decision was, it had something— It's something that's deeper than just the basketball stuff of it, and it's something that, at some point, I'll share with people,” he said. “But for me, it felt like it was the time for me to go elsewhere.”
He also didn’t close the door on potentially retiring a Celtic down the road.
“As far as the end of my career, I don't know,” Horford said. “I mean, I always keep that open. It would definitely be a privilege to do that, but I'm obviously just trying to focus on finishing out this year.”
Meanwhile, when asked about his departure from Boston, Porzingis ended his press conference (albeit with a smile). He noted that he doesn’t like speaking pre-game, but would maybe talk after the game.
Porzingis’ Celtics tenure ended on an unfortunately sour note, through no fault of his own. He was dealing with an unknown illness for almost the entirety of last year’s playoffs. And though he was eventually diagnosed with POTS, he’s still been on and off the court this season with other injuries.
“Tough, honestly,” Porzingis said when asked about how this season has been for him. “Not the most enjoyable season, especially since the playoffs. Then, the summertime, I was healthy, I was good. And then again, kind of up and down this season, not playing too much. But I'm actually excited about being here now. Feeling good today, playing today's game, and building from this point on. It feels like a new page. And yeah, I want to finish the year strong. That's my goal.”
That said, he’s finally been able to deal with the illness (POTS) that plagued him throughout his final postseason in Boston.
“Yeah, for sure,” he said when asked if he has a better grasp on it now. “I mean, honestly, in the summertime, I would say I had resolved it already. Because it did take me longer to get back in shape. I took some time off, let my body recover, and it did take me longer than usual to get back in shape. But once I started playing in the EuroBasket stuff, I was like, 'Okay, the energy is back. I'm feeling good.'
“And so, I would say I kind of put that behind me. It was a little bit of everything that helped to kind of get past it. But in the playoffs, I did not feel good at all. And yeah, it was not perfect to have that, but overcome it, and now feeling good, and excited for this.”
Departures aside, Horford and Porzingis will forever be enshrined in Celtics history, and that’s no easy feat. They won a title. That’s the bar in Boston. And they reached it.
More from Horford and Porzingis
Horford on Neemias Queta’s success: “I think it's a credit just to him in general, and the coaching staff preparing him. I mean, I'm sure that he observed a lot, and he's just taking advantage of the opportunity. I think that, for me, when I was there, my biggest thing was always just trying to encourage him, but got to give him all the credit for everything that he's doing, and how he has taken what it means to be in that position.”
Horford on playing with Porzingis again: “It's awesome. It's awesome to be here with KP. We were both looking at each other. We would have never expected us to be on a team together again, but it's good to be here with him. And that chemistry that we built over the past two years, it just makes everything click for us much easier now that we're here.”
Porzingis on Warriors debut vs. Celtics: “For sure, interesting circumstance. But I'm excited about the first game, and to play against my own team. They're gonna have the perfect scouting report for me. So let's see how that goes.”
Porzingis on Neemias Queta: “Haven't watched too much, honestly. But Neemi's been, he's been good, I think. From what I've seen, he's been good. And getting more opportunity, I think he deserves that, and I'm happy that he's playing well.”