Al Horford named co-chair of Jr. NBA Court of Leaders, speaks on Celtics' mindset heading into playoffs
Al Horford is a five-time All-Star who is marching back to the NBA playoffs with the Boston Celtics. While he's established himself as a leader on the court, he is continuing his legacy off of it and was named a co-chair of Jr. NBA Court of Leaders, USA TODAY Sports has learned.
"It was a very unique opportunity to make a difference in the life of upcoming young people and in this case, these players, boys and girls are trying to find their way," Horford told USA TODAY Sports.
"When the Jr. NBA brought it up to me, I just thought that it was something that I would be able to put an imprint and impact them in a positive way. ... It was kind of a no-brainer."
For the NBA, it was also an easy decision to name Horford, 36, co-chair of the second cohort of the program, which started in November. The Jr. NBA Court of Leaders hosts rising stars in boys' and girls' high school basketball, teaching them fundamentals of the game and life lessons. The students are assigned a mentor from the NBA or WNBA front office and then participate in leadership seminars, museum visits and special projects during events like NBA All-Star weekend to have a holistic education.
Candice Haynes, NBA Youth Basketball Development Senior Manager, cited Horford's past work with youth, including his 2019 homecoming trip to the Dominican Republic where he partnered with the Jr. NBA to host their first camp in the country, as reasons to make him a leader of the program.
"Al has always shown a commitment to helping the next generation," Haynes said. "... We had a chance to connect him with the group a while back and just the thoughtfulness that he showed in his responses to some of their questions — whether it was related to how he uses his platform to really give back and amplify some of the social impact issues that that he cares about, or whether it's how he navigates fatherhood, and preparing for games and how he takes care of his body and just kind of understanding how he's been able to stay in the league as long as he has and have such a great career — I think that's all very valuable for our members."
The Jr. NBA will name its next WNBA co-chair after determining who is the best fit for the program. Napheesa Collier of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and Jaren Jackson Jr. of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies were the co-chairs of the Court of Leaders' first cohort.
"We don't just find a random NBA or WNBA player and say, 'Hey, be the co-chair of the Court of Leaders,'" Haynes added. "We really put a lot of thought and consideration into folks who are going to invest the time and the energy and are really going to care about the well being and progression of our members."
Al Horford reflects on NBA empowering its players
The Jr. NBA seeks to show participants that they are more than athletes. The Court of Leaders program helps them understand how to use their voices for social change.
Horford sees the importance of teaching young players these skills and appreciates how the NBA embraces the athlete as a whole person. The league acknowledged racial justice issues during the 2020 NBA bubble, writing "Black Lives Matter" on courts and allowing players to kneel during the national anthem.
"The special thing about the NBA is that they’re encouraging all the players to speak their minds, but also support them," he said. "‘Cause one thing is just to tell somebody they can do something, but I am conscious that they are actively trying to help us in any way to put things that we’re passionate about out there and really get behind it. So that’s something that’s really special and that I have seen much, much improvement from when I got to the NBA at first."
Horford knows the importance of these programs as he participated in a basketball camp hosted by the NBA Players Association while he was in high school. He got to hear from Hall of Famer Ben Wallace about his journey.
"That had a profound effect on me just hearing him talk," he said, "seeing a real NBA player talking with me, him sharing experiences talking about his life, how he came up, how he made his way to where he is."
Al Horford, Celtics prepare for NBA playoffs
As the Celtics enter the postseason, they will seek redemption after losing to the Golden State Warriors in last year's championship. Prior to this season, Boston faced controversy when head coach Ime Udoka was given a year-long suspension for violating team policy. The team came together under new head coach Joe Mazzulla and finished the regular season second in the Eastern Conference.
Being seeded high enough to miss the play-in games gives Horford a few extra days to rest up from a lingering back injury. He played on and off as the regular season concluded, but is going to "really make sure that I’m feeling as best as I can" for the postseason, which will start for the Celtics on Saturday.
"We’re really excited for the playoffs," Horford said. "The group that we have, I just feel that last year we learned so much and now, I feel like we’ve put ourselves in a position to be in a better place."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Al Horford named leader of Jr. NBA program, speaks on Celtics' season
