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Does winning a title make Al Horford a Hall of Famer?
Boston Celtics center Al Horford. Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Does winning a title make Al Horford a Hall of Famer?

After 17 NBA seasons, Al Horford is finally an NBA champion. But does adding a ring make his career worthy of the Hall of Fame?

Horford's resume is short on individual honors, but it's big on winning. He made the All-Rookie team, one All-NBA third team in 2010-11 and one All-Defensive second team in 2017-18. He also made five All-Star teams, the same as Hall of Famers like Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin, but not a huge total — that's one fewer than Blake Griffin and two fewer than LaMarcus Aldridge.

His career totals aren't wildly impressive either. Horford is 75th in career rebounds, 62nd in career blocks and 63rd with 112.7 Win Shares. But the main thrust of Horford's Hall of Fame case comes from what he did in the postseason.

Big Al has played the 15th-most playoff games in NBA history. Horford is 17th in playoff blocks and 20th in playoff rebounds. He's won 20 playoff series in his career, won a Finals, lost a Finals and reached six conference finals.

It's the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame, which makes Horford an even better candidate. He won back-to-back NCAA titles at Florida, amassing an NCAA Tournament record of 13-1 for his three-year college career.

The individual accolades and statistics might not be there for Horford, but the wins are. After winning a title, he's likely clinched his Hall of Fame berth, especially if he comes back next season and helps the Celtics repeat.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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