Sometimes, when longstanding dreams become fulfilled and everything has proven possible, the right words to capture the spirit of the thing can be elusive.
And sometimes, in the best of times, they’re right there waiting.
Tell me, Celtics fans, how does this sound this morning?
Al Horford. NBA champion. Boston Celtics.
Maybe the words themselves aren’t quite poetic. But what they stand for is the sweetest kind of poetic justice.
The championship that eluded the esteemed Horford is at last his, after 17 seasons and 186 playoff games. He has deserved it for a long time. It’s no wonder that in the moments after it became a reality, Horford was still processing the experience.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I’m going through the emotions right now, but I don’t feel like it’s over,” said Horford, goggles on his forehead and a grin on his face, after the Celtics clinched the franchise’s 18th championship with a 106-88 victory over the Mavericks Monday night at TD Garden.
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When a team wins a championship — especially one that has overcome so much, from unfulfilled previous quests to amplified media narratives ringing in their players’ ears — it’s human nature for each of the victors to be happiest for, well, themselves.
But Horford might be the runner-up on every one of his teammates’ ballots.
Jayson Tatum, who sits next to Horford on the team plane, has often called him the best teammate he’s ever had. One got the sense after the clinching victory it is not an outlier of an opinion.
“Knowing the type of person that Al is, knowing the leader that he is, even off the court, the father that he is, just the all-around great person and great human, I’d run through a brick wall for him,” said Jrue Holiday. “I’m so happy that he got one.”
Said Derrick White, “Man, nobody deserves it more. Hell of a career. So underrated. Just does everything for us. Doesn’t ask for anything. I’m so happy for him, and I’m glad I could be a part of it.”
And one more testimonial: “You know, everybody loves him,” said Kristaps Porzingis. “And he gave everything to this team. He deserves it more than anybody.”
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The championship is the Celtics’ first since 2008. That journey included a seven-game victory over the Atlanta Hawks and rookie Al Horford in the first round.
It would be understandable if, in his younger days, he thought championships would be easier to come by. He won back-to-back national titles in college at Florida.
When he came to the Celtics in July 2016 as a free agent, one of the deciding factors was the opportunity to win in a market where winning is not a quest but a demand.
Horford smiled recalling his meeting during free agency, and how Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck’s 2008 championship ring caught his and agent Jason Glushon’s attention.
“We were both sitting in the meeting," said Horford, “and we just kept looking at this enormous ring in Wyc’s hand. And after the meeting we were like, ‘Did you notice that?’
“I’ll never forget what Danny Ainge told me in that meeting. He said, ‘You can win championships in many places, but there’s nothing like winning in Boston. Nothing like winning as a Celtic.’
“And that stuck with me from that meeting.”
Horford’s route to becoming a champion in Boston was not linear. After the bitter end to the 2019 season, when Kyrie Irving checked out on his teammates long before the season’s final buzzer and the Celtics folded up in a conference semifinals loss to the Bucks, he signed as a free agent with the rival 76ers.
After an ill-fitting season there and another in limbo with Oklahoma City, Horford was brought back to Boston by Brad Stevens in his first move as president of basketball operations.
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Even with the layovers elsewhere, Horford has been the quintessential Celtic, someone for Tatum and Jaylen Brown to lean on, a still-tough defender and steady 3-point shooter who plays a decade younger than his age.
His performance Monday was a fitting sample. He scored 9 points in 32 minutes, and all of them were meaningful, from knocking down the Celtics’ first 3-pointer in the first quarter to a sneaky-important driving layup with just over three minutes left in the first half and the Mavericks attempting to rally, to another 3-pointer off a Brown feed with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter to build the lead to 75-50.
He also corralled 9 rebounds and was a team-best plus-23 in the first half. Yet what will be remembered best is his departure from the game with 2:25 remaining, the confirmation that the party was about to begin.
There are conversations to be had, now and mostly later, about Horford’s place in history. The championship feels like the missing piece on his Hall of Fame résumé, which includes those two Gator titles, five NBA All-Star appearances, and All-Defense and All-NBA nods.
The metric win shares says Horford’s most similar statistical comps include Robert Parish, Bob Lanier, and Wes Unseld, all easy enshrinees in Springfield. (We will ignore Bill Laimbeer, for reasons that require no explanation. The Chief can take care of him.)
I will also hear the argument, and nod in agreement, that Horford’s No. 42 should someday dangle from the Garden rafters.
As he stepped off the podium, Horford gripped his son Ean’s hand and made his way out of the interview room.
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“I can’t believe it," he said quietly.
He will soon enough.
Say it with me: Al Horford. NBA champion. Boston Celtics.
He’ll be hearing that beautiful string of words for the rest of his life.
Read more about the Celtics’ NBA championship
- Dan Shaughnessy: A torch has been passed: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum join the champions club and help Celtics raise Banner 18
- On Basketball: Jayson Tatum — a star on his own — finally realized his NBA title dreams by embracing greatness of his teammates
- When will the Celtics hold their championship parade? Here’s what we know so far.
- ‘An unbelievable feeling:’ Celtics celebrate first NBA title since 2008; fans take to the streets outside TD Garden
- ‘I’d lose all my teeth for a championship:’ Derrick White smiles through the pain after chipped tooth in Game 5
- Jaylen Brown named NBA Finals MVP after 21-point performance in Game 5
- Payton Pritchard beats the buzzer again, making longest shot in the NBA Finals in more than 25 years
- With one more rough shooting night, Kyrie Irving’s fruitless Finals return to Boston draws to a close
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.