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ATLANTA – Al Horford has entered Philips Arena hundreds of times during his life, but his arrival to the venue Friday morning felt a bit unorthodox.
During his nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Horford would drive to and from the arena on a daily basis. It was essentially his home away from home. On Friday, however, he bussed over to Philips as a visitor with his new team, the Boston Celtics.
“It's very different. I don't think I came through [the visitor’s entrance] many times,” Horford told a throng of media members before Celtics shootaround. “But I think probably tonight it will be more surreal for me.”
Friday night will be the first time that Horford suits up against his former team, as he and the Celtics are set to tip off against the Hawks at 8 p.m. on CSN and ESPN. The homecoming won’t only be surreal for him, though; his former teammates acknowledge that it will be very strange seeing him in a different uniform.
“It’s going to be a little awkward,” admitted Hawks point guard Dennis Schroeder, who played 164 games alongside Horford in Atlanta. “He’d been with us for years and now he’s on the other side.”
“But, we’re still family,” added Schroeder. “He helped me a lot. Everything on and off the court, what he did… he did a lot for me.”
Horford had a unique impact on the Hawks during his near-decade with the team. When Atlanta drafted him in 2007, he helped to end the Hawks’ eight-year playoff drought and guided them to nine consecutive postseason appearances.
His competitive nature and selfless attitude not only furthered the development of young players such as Schroeder, but also aided Mike Budenhozler and his coaching staff when they joined the franchise ahead of the 2013 season.
“When I arrived and a lot of us came in, he’d been here,” said Budenholzer. “He was the established player and he bought into everything we were doing on both ends of the court.
“He’s a great teammate. He’s great to coach. He’s a very, very good player. He’s just kind of the whole package. But him buying in and putting in a lot of trust and faith in all of us, and particularly me, was really important.”
For those reasons, the Hawks players and coaches can never hold a grudge against Horford for deciding to part ways with the organization to join the Celtics. His impact has been far too great on the city of Atlanta, and they all respect and understand his decision to start a new chapter.
“It’s just the nature of the business,” said forward Kent Bazemore, who spent two seasons playing with Horford in Atlanta. “You always seek out what’s best for you and your family. Family goes a lot farther than teammates, and you can always keep those (teammate) relationships in texts, or whenever you see him you can grab dinner or something.
“He’s a great teammate, a great professional, and I’m happy for him.”
While the Hawks and the city of Atlanta will always hold a special place in Horford’s heart, he believes that turning a new leaf and starting fresh in Boston was the best choice for his career.
“For me, individually, it was the right decision,” said Horford. “It takes time to adjust to a new team, a new city and everything. But my new teammates and coaches have made my transition very easy and it’s something that I’m still doing that I feel more and more comfortable every game that I play.”
Friday night, Horford will get the opportunity to play in the comfortable confines of his former home against a Hawks team that has won seven straight games and sits one and a half games behind Boston in the Eastern Conference standings.
“Honestly I’m just happy to be here, happy to be able to get out here and play,” said Horford. “It’s a big game for us tonight. We’re both in this mix as far as position (in the standings), so it’s a big game for us.”
Horford’s emotions are running high at the moment and the strangeness of the situation is still settling in. Those emotions will likely be heightened even more when he’s introduced ahead of tonight’s matchup in front of the Hawks fans and players. But once the game tips off, his competitive nature will surely take over and it will feel just like any other game on the schedule.