Al Horford Wants To Play Until He’s 40

Celtics big man Al Horford wants to play until he’s 40, Brian Robb of the Boston Sports Journal reports.

That’s quite a lofty goal for a 12-year veteran big man who has already logged 775 regular-season and 111 postseason games in his career. Horford turns 33 in June.

“For me, as long as I’m healthy and feel good, I would like to play until I’m 40,” Horford told Robb. “Why not? As long as I’m healthy and feel good. I don’t want to be out there struggling or hurt or things like that. I really take the time to work on my body and I enjoy the game, so I wouldn’t see why I wouldn’t keep playing on it. I’m not going to put a limit on it. I’m just going to keep playing as long as I feel good.”

Horford missed 10 games this season, mainly due to a knee injury, but has been durable for much of his career. He played just 29 games during the 2012/13 season after suffering a torn pectoral but appeared in 68 or more regular-season games in each the next four years.

“I feel good. It’s something that I don’t have any complaints about,” Horford said. “I dealt with that (knee issue) in December, but I think it was probably like mid-January, that’s when I felt back like myself. Hopefully, I won’t have any issues with it.”

There are only 27 players in NBA history that have played at age 40, Robb notes, including two active ones (Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki).

Horford has one more year remaining on his contract with Boston, if he chooses to opt in to his $30.1MM salary for next season. He is averaging 13.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.4 BPG in 28.7 MPG this season.