To say NBA veteran Al Horford has had a good career playing basketball would be a gross understatement.

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The longtime member of the Boston Celtics remains a free agent. Rumors have been swirling that he could join the Golden State Warriors.

There’s also a chance he calls it quits — and if this was the last we’ve seen of Horford on the court, he deserves his flowers as one of the more underrated players of his generation.

Al Horford in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals:

26 PTS | 6 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 97.6% TS

OG was ready to go. pic.twitter.com/insMmyVEJ7

— Jake Issenberg (@jakeissenberg) September 5, 2025

Zach Kram of ESPN wrote an interesting article where he analyzed multiple players past and present. The goal was to make a case for why (or why not) a player should be in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Horford and his decorated career game up, and Kram offered his take accordingly.

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“Like [Kevin] Love, Horford is a five-time All-Star and NBA champion. Unlike Love, Horford’s peak was lower, but he’s still chugging along as a championship-level contributor into his late 30s. The Basketball Hall of Fame’s consideration of all levels of basketball could benefit Horford a great deal, thanks to his back-to-back collegiate titles at Florida. In the one-and-done era, few players will receive a notable NCAA boost to their Hall of Fame cases — Horford might be the exception.”

As Kram mentioned, Horford’s career speaks for itself. He was a key cog in Florida winning back-to-back titles over some very good teams (including a UCLA squad led by future NBA players Jordan Farmar, Cedric Bozeman, Arron Afflalo, Ryan Hollins, Darren Collison, and Luc Mbah a Moute).

As an NBA player, Horford morphed from a burly, defensive-minded big man into one that still possessed those traits, though with improved skill all over the court from his passing ability to a penchant for spacing the floor.

Most career 3-pointers made by a center (career 3PT% in parenthesis):

1,117 – KAT (40.0%)
1,075 – Brook Lopez (35.2%)
898 – Nikola Vucevic (34.8%)
877 – Al Horford (38.0%)
814 – Nikola Jokic (36.0%)
753 – Myles Turner (36.3%)
672 – Kelly Olynyk (37.0%)
569 – Naz Reid (37.3%) pic.twitter.com/o38udSUT6C

— The Lead (@TheLeadSM) August 29, 2025

Horford, a five-time All-Star, helped the Boston Celtics win the 2024 NBA Championship as the veteran big man with high basketball I.Q. He did all the dirty work for the Celtics, and that included playing some ridiculously good stationary defense despite dealing with diminished athleticism.

The Florida product also was a college All-American, an All-Rookie First Team selection, a All-Defense Second Team member (2018), and an All-NBA Third Team selection (2011). Furthermore, Horford’s career has spanned nearly 20 years.

Even if Horford doesn’t add to his resume, he’s made a real case to be included in the Hall of Fame.

For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.