Al Horford explains why he chose to join the Celtics

Based on what Al Horford said at media day this afternoon, it sounds like part of him has wanted to be a member of the Boston Celtics ever since he first came into the NBA:

Al Horford said when he played in Boston his rookie year he was hypnotized by the banners. "I couldn't stop looking up... It's powerful."

— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) September 26, 2016

Horford on Boston: "This is a special place."

— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) September 26, 2016

Horford: "I have a good idea of the history of the Celtics & the passion here. One of the reasons I’m here is I want to be a part of that."

— Taylor C. Snow (@taylorcsnow) September 26, 2016

As we've heard before, his experience when the Hawks took on the Celtics in the postseason last year clearly affected his choice:

Al Horford on meeting Cs in playoffs: "I was very impressed by how hard the team played and how good the team could be under Brad Stevens."

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) September 26, 2016

It's funny now to look back at how last season unfolded.  At the time, I was irate that Boston got screwed over by absurd tiebreaker rules and was forced to take on Atlanta as the No. 5 seed.  But if that'd never happened, it's quite possible Horford wouldn't be here now.

The big man elaborated on how C's fans may have played a part in his decision:

#Celtics Al Horford: Noticed last year the fans weren't coming at me like in the past. They are a smart fan base. They cut me a break. pic.twitter.com/If8K402cRC

— Scott Souza (@Scott_Souza) September 26, 2016

Horford said Celtics fans told him during playoffs last year: You're going to be here next year.

— Bill Doyle (@BillDoyle15) September 26, 2016

Plus, there's this:

Al Horford says the way fellow Dominican David Ortiz talked about the city of Boston helped fuel his decision to come here.

— CelticsLife.com (@CelticsLife) September 26, 2016

Best of all, the four-time All-Star sounds quite confident about the future of his new ballclub:

Horford: "I just want to be able to come in & help our team grow...I took a chance on coming here, because I believe in the guys they have"

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) September 26, 2016

Al Horford very high on the Celtics future, said he wanted a chance to play for championships.

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) September 26, 2016

Banner No. 18 Al, we hope you can help bring it here.



Follow Mark Van Deusen on Twitter @LucidSportsFan