Al Horford's mother recalls Dominican Republic star devouring books to learn the game through referees' eyes during a pivotal age

For Al Horford, his journey to basketball greatness began within the pages of books as much as between the lines on the court. His mother, Arelis Reynoso, recalls how Al was a voracious consumer of books about basketball officiating.

“I just found books [about] basketball, and he started reading the rules,” Reynoso said. “He starts seeing how the referees have a protocol and etiquette... he wanted to know everything. And every time he saw anybody play, he wanted to be there, watching and playing.”

Horford took on the role of a coach from the first time he picked up a basketball.

At the first basketball camp that Horford attended, one of his first coaches was Dominican basketball legend Teresa Duran. Immediately, the basketball great was taken aback at the youngster’s prodigious basketball acumen. Duran relayed this to Horford’s mother, telling her she had never seen a little child display court vision and basketball IQ this high.

“He [would] say, ‘Come on. Let me show you. When I’m here, you need to pass the ball here, but if you see two players here, you need to do this,’” Reynoso said, reminiscing on how her son instantly took over the coach’s seat.

From the outset, Horford began acting as a coach to his young teammates, as he would write down plays, give advice and explain how to make on-court reads.

His talents and basketball acumen took Horford to the University of Florida, where he was a 2-time National Champion and the NBA where he has been enjoyed a 17-year career that includes being a 5-time All-Star and a key contributor on the Boston Celtics 2024 NBA championship team and is still a key cog as the Celtics look to defend their crown.

Championship teammate says he would “run through a brick wall” for Al Horford

Jrue Holiday secured his second Larry O’Brien trophy last season with the Boston Celtics, but his focus quickly shifted to teammate Al Horford, who won his first championship.

“[Getting Horford a title] was one of the ultimate goals of [the 2023-24] season,” said Holiday. “I’d run through a brick wall for him.”

Holiday said that Horford is a quality human being, and that inspires him.

"I think sometimes you just have those people that bring that out of you. They're great humans, they want the best, not only for you but for everybody around them. They're selfless. They think about other people before themselves. And they do everything for everybody else and then don't expect credit. I feel like people like that, you want everything great for them."

"And then you also see his career, what he's done and how he's been the best player on his team, and then how he handles a situation like this, where there's so much talent. He’s for sure a Hall of Famer, and I'm pretty sure Al could be strutting his stuff and he doesn’t. He's so respectful, he's so humble."

"Guys like that, you just want to run through a brick wall for.”

Even at the age of 38, Horford is still a key contributor to the Celtics. Displaying the selflessness and team-first perspective that has been a hallmark of his career,

Horford elected to come off the bench to facilitate the integration of the Celtics’ influx of talent. He still ended up starting 42 of the 60 games he appeared in this season, and providing steady play, averaging 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.7 minutes per contest.