Celtics center Al Horford joins exclusive club
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Lorenzo Delgado, Contributor
- March 5, 2024
Al Horford, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker cross scoring milestones
There is a small representation of Latinos in the NBA. Only 10 Latinos currently hold spots on 15-man rosters this season, but Al Horford, Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker have collected special milestones over the last two weekends.
Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brook and Robin Lopez, and Jose Alvarado continue to blaze the way for the future of Latinos who hope to play in the NBA.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford achieved a career milestone and placed his name in NBA history Sunday. Moreover, Phoenix Suns’ guard Devin Booker and Minnesota Timberwolves’ center Karl-Anthony Towns reached pivotal points of their NBA careers the previous weekend.
Horford, a 17-year NBA veteran, took on a new role with the Celtics coming into the 2024 NBA season. The Dominican center welcomed the idea of coming off the bench.
Al Horford reaches 14,000 points
Al Horford and the Celtics welcomed the Golden State Warriors to the TD Garden. A 2022 NBA Finals rematch had the NBA world ready for a back-and-forth, high-scoring game. However, the Celtics demolished one of the NBA’s successful dynasties Sunday afternoon.
The Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, native, scored seven points while grabbing four rebounds, four assists and one steal in the 144-88 win over the Warriors.
Horford became only the sixth player in NBA history with 14,000 points, 8,400 rebounds, 3,400 assists, and 1,200 blocks in a career. He joined Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, and Dirk Nowitzki.
Booker made his fourth All-Star appearance in the 73rd NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis. Booker also released his first signature shoe called the Nike “Book 1” during NBA All-Star Weekend.
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The Suns returned to Phoenix in style for their third game back from the All-Star break. The Suns sported their purple El Valle jerseys on Feb. 25 while the Los Angeles Lakers wore their white away jerseys.
From Book 1 Nikes to 14,000
El Valle translates to “The Valley” in English. The Mexican American Booker flourished with his purple headband and debuted his baby blue Book 1s in the Footprint Center.
Booker, 27, achieved a career milestone on Feb. 25 with his 14,000th career point in a 123-113 win against the Lakers. Booker scored 21 points while grabbing three rebounds, nine assists and one steal.
The Grand Rapids, Mich., native was awarded the KIA NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for January.
He’ll continue to help the Suns make a run for the NBA playoffs in the second half. The Suns hold the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a 35-26 record.
Another milestone for Towns
After becoming the first Latino to score 50 points in an NBA All-Star Game, Karl-Anthony Towns proceeds to reach a career-milestone in his first game back from the All-Star break.
Towns became the 223rd player in NBA history to reach 13,000 career points on Feb. 23. The Dominican American finished the game with 22 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and one steal in a 112-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Furthermore, Towns collected his 21st double-double of the season.
The first overall pick in the 2015 draft has performed at an all-time level this season. Towns is averaging 22.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 59 games. He’s shooting a .508 field-goal percentage, while firing a career-best .427 three-point percentage.
The Timberwolves hold the top seed by percentage points over the Thunder and Nuggets in the Western Conference with a 43-19 record. Al Horford is arguably the best Dominican native in NBA history. The Dominican American Towns, however, is close behind.
Lorenzo Delgado
Contributor
Lorenzo Delgado graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and is currently attending the University of Houston to earn his master’s degree. Lorenzo was formerly a contributing baseball writer for Call to the Pen on the Fansided Network. He is the host of an Astros baseball podcast called Full Seam Ahead, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever podcasts are found.
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