Al Horford reportedly still seeking to continue NBA career in 2025-26 season

Al Horford’s 39th birthday is coming up in a few, but as the Celtics’ big man nears 40, he doesn’t have the intention to stop his NBA career in the near future.

Horford isn’t planning to retire and is hoping to remain with the Celtics for the 2025-26 season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst wrote in a column on Saturday. Prior to Saturday’s report, Horford seemed to indicate his intention to keep playing in an interview following Florida’s national championship game win in early April.

“I know that I’m gonna be playing against him next season in the pros. Maybe he’ll be with us,” Horford told Fox Sports’ John Fanta when asked about Florida standout guard Walter Clayton Jr.

However, whether Horford is back in Boston for the 2025-26 season is uncertain. Even though he’d reportedly like to remain with the Celtics, he isn’t under contract for the 2025-26 season.

Boston’s rising payroll could also make it tough to keep Horford in town, even if it’s just for another year. Before the offseason even begins, the Celtics already have $464 million committed in payroll next season in salaries and repeat luxury tax penalties, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. If the Celtics kept their draft picks, didn’t trade anyone, and signed players to veteran minimum deals to round the roster, that number will exceed $500 million, Marks added.

The Celtics could sign Horford to a deal worth more than the veteran’s minimum as they have his Bird Rights, but it would obviously be ideal if they could get him to re-sign on a minimum contract. Of course, Horford would have to be willing to sign for such a number as well, which would mean he’d be taking a pretty big pay cut. He had a $9.5 million salary for the 2024-25 season as part of a two-year, $19.5 million extension he signed ahead of the 2023-24 season. In the six years prior to that extension, Horford made roughly $28 million per year.

Horford’s play this season would also suggest that he’s worth more than just the veteran’s minimum, which is projected to be $3.6 million in 2025-26. He averaged nine points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 27.7 minutes per game, starting 42 of the 60 regular-season games he played in due to Kristaps Porzingis’s health woes. He also stepped up big defensively in several games throughout the year, with Boston going 31-11 in the games Horford started.

It has been rumored over the last couple of months that the Celtics could be proactive in shedding salary via trade. NBA executives have eyed Porzingis and Jrue Holiday as the two most likely players to be moved in such a deal, The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer reported back in March. Making a trade like that could make it more tenable for the Celtics to keep Horford.

Before the Celtics really dive into their offseason plans, though, they have to get through the postseason. They’re currently down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Knicks ahead of Saturday’s Game 3. A second-round loss would almost surely cause the Celtics to do some rearranging of the roster, even with the salary concerns looming.