Al Horford is a Dominican professional basketball player who plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He currently plays for the Boston Celtics as their center/power forward. He spent nine years of his career with the Atlanta Hawks before being signed by the Celtics with a $113 million contract in 2016.
Horford was a student of the University of Florida and was the starting center for the Gators team. He helped Gators to back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2006 and 2007. He is also a five-time NBA All-Star.
Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso was born on June 3, 1986, in Puerto Plata, the Dominican Republic to parents Arelis Reynoso and Tito Horford. His father is a former NBA player. His family moved to Lansing, Michigan and it is where Horford grew up. He joined the Grand Ledge High School where he became a star on its basketball team.
Horford enrolled at the University of Florida with an athletic scholarship. During his college year, he helped the Gators win the 2005 and the 2006 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championships. The Gators also won the 2006 NCAA tournament. Horford has a record of 1,000 college career points. He was teammates with Joakim Noah during his time at the Florida University.
Al Horford entered the 2007 NBA Draft where he was picked by the Atlanta Hawks as the third overall pick. He signed a rookie scale contract with the Hawks on July 9. In his rookie season, Horford averaged 10.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 0.7 steals. He was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
In his second season with the Hawks, Al Horford recorded an average of 11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 0.8 steals. In the 2009-2010 season, Horford became the first drafted pick to earn All-Star of the Hawks. Horford signed a five-year, $60 million contract extension with the Hawks on November 1, 2010.
Al Horford tore his left pectoral muscle on January 11, 2012, in the game against the Indiana Pacers. The injury caused Horford to miss the final 55 games of the season. He made a return next season and started in 74 games and ended the season with an average career-high 17.4 points, career-high 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 1.1 steals.
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The 2013-2014 season was a season that Horford sat out most of the games in. He played in 29 games of the season before being sidelined for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Returning in better condition after surgery, Horford played in 76 of the regular season games in 2014-2015. He was able to score his first career triple-double in the season. The Hawks had one of their best runs in the season with a record of 60-22 in the East.
Al Horford played all 82 regular-season games of the 2015-2016 season, the first time in his career. He ended the season with an average of 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks. The end of the season also spelled the end of his contract with the Hawks and he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2016. The Hawks spent most of their budget to pick up Dwight Howard as such were unable to offer a good deal to Horford.
On July 8, 2016, Al Horford signed a four-year, $113 million contract with the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2016 season but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers led by their star power forward LeBron James. A similar story followed in the 2017 season where the Celtics were able to reach the finals of the Eastern Conference but lost to the Cavaliers in a seven-game series.
Al Horford is a married man and also a father of two. His wife is the former Miss Universe Amelia Vega who was the first Dominican to be named Miss Universe. He married Amelia on December 24, 2011, in Santo Domingo.
Horford has a son, Ean Horford Vega born on February 23, 2015, and a daughter, Alia Horford Vega, born on November 27, 2016. At the start of 2018, Horford announced that he was expecting a child who is due by the end of 2018.
Al Horford has had a stellar career in NBA. He is one of the highest-paid players of the Boston Celtics. Being one of the highest-paid players in the NBA, Horford has an astounding net worth of $60 million. He signed a four-year, $113 million contract with the Celtics in 2016 which averages his salary to be $28.25 million annually. With huge pay like that, his net worth will only grow with time.
