Celtics owner makes huge announcement regarding veteran big man

Boston Celtics fans learned on Tuesday morning that Jeff Van Gundy would be leaving his role as a consultant to president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens.

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck confirmed on Tuesday, however, that one of the team's biggest contributors on the court will be back for the 2024-25 season.

"Al (Horford) is coming back for next year. That's what I've been told. Age 38, which is unbelievable," Grousbeck said. "We've got some guys who are getting up there a little bit, but basically, we're a young team. Most of our players are 30 or younger and that is bad news for everybody else hopefully."

The five-time All-Star center just finished his 17th season and has played in over 1,200 career games (including the playoffs). Before Monday, Horford had been second only to Hall of Famer Karl Malone in NBA history for most games played without a championship.

Even as he approaches 40, Horford is still playing at a high level and proved that again during the 2023-24 campaign.

The Florida product sacrificed his role as a career-long starter this winter as Kristaps Porzingis played his first season in Boston. Then when the Latvian got injured in the playoffs, Horford stepped back into the starting lineup and came up huge.

Horford reentered the first five on the floor after Porzingis suffered a right-calf injury during Game 4 of the team's first-round series against the Miami Heat. Porzingis was then sidelined for over a month, covering 10 games and including the entire second and third rounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, respectively.

Horford had multiple clutch efforts with his fellow big man on the bench, averaging 12.8 points and 7.3 rebounds across the Celtics' four-game sweep of the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

He then posted 7.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists while going 13-of-25 (8-of-17 on three-pointers) across the five contests in the NBA Finals.

Horford may not be racking up double-doubles like he did in his prime, but he is still a crucial member of the Celtics.