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Happy to see Gordon Hayward thriving with the Hornets, Boston’s Al Horford recounts what might have been

Justin Quinn
·2 min read
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One of the most important moments of Boston Celtics veteran big man Al Horford’s previous stint with the team was unfortunately the catastrophic injury of teammate Gordon Hayward at the start of the Butler product’s tenure with the franchise.

That unfortunate play transformed the promising potential of the team in an instant in ways that would eventually see Horford leave the team in free agency and Hayward as well once whole again. Now, with Horford back with the Celtics as they rebuild the foundation that disaster would eventually necessitate, Hayward will soon travel to the city he once called home to play the Florida product and his former team.

Speaking with the media ahead of Hayward’s first return to TD Garden as a Charlotte Hornet Wednesday, Horford shared his thoughts on what might have been had his teammate not shattered his ankle that day.

“You always wonder with Gordon,” he began. “For me, my biggest thing with him is that I was very encouraged by the way he was able to bounce back from the injury.

“Sometimes, when the injuries happen, you don’t know how the player is going to be, how their game is going to change. And Gordon has been able to work to get to a point where he can still be a really, really good player. He showed it his last year here and now in Charlotte, he’s been having a really good year. So for me, I’m impressed with how he’s handled adversity. He didn’t let that get him down and he’s continued to work, and he’s in a really good place right now.”

“So, I’m just really happy for him,” added Horford.

Players may change teams and go at one another with everything they have while on the court and playing for their respective franchises of the moment.

Dreams of an NBA dynasty may have died on the court in the early moments of a season-opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but it seems that bonds that were forged in the aftermath of a career-threatening injury endure.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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