Al Horford Makes History As First Dominican Player To Play In The NBA Finals

Alfred Joel Goad Horford Reynoso, who also goes by Al Horford, will be the first Dominican player to play in the NBA Finals when the Boston Celtics face off against the Golden State Warriors, Remezcla reports.

Horford has played for the Hawks, 76ers, Thunder and the Celtics throughout his 15-year career. As Blavity previously reported, the Celtics won against the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals by 100-96, earning the Celtics a spot in the NBA Championship.

It appeared to be an emotional achievement for Horford. ESPN posted a video of the Celtics player on his knees and celebrating after his team’s big win.

“Al Horford let it all out after reaching his first NBA Finals,” it captioned the video.

Horford later expounded on the achievement.

“We’re here in Miami really close to [Dominican Republic],” he said, CBS News reports. “I know my family’s happy. Everybody’s happy. Everybody’s watching. The country was watching. I know everybody was there. They were sending me pictures. They were ready for this. We’re enjoying this one.”

Horford isn’t the only person in his family to make history in the NBA as a Dominican. His father, Tito Horford, was the first Dominican-born player to play in the NBA in 1988 when he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks.

While the Warriors are the favorite to win the NBA Finals, Celtics coach Ime Udoka said his team has what it takes to beat them, Blavity previously reported.

“We’ve played Golden State well this year,” he told Yahoo Sports. ‘We blasted them at their place, had a tough loss at our place early in the season,” he continued. “And so it’s a new series. We know who we are and the things we do well, so we’re confident in that.”