In June 2013, Al Horford and his wife, Amelia, traveled to Miami at the request of freshly hired Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. Finishing his tenure as a San Antonio Spurs assistant before fully transitioning into his new role, Budenholzer wanted Horford, a rising star with the Hawks, to see basketball at the highest level.
“He just wanted me to experience the atmosphere,” Horford remembered, “what it’s like being in the NBA Finals, and to see the level of play. It’s a different level of play when you play in the finals.”
Totally different, as Horford learned. The 2013 NBA Finals would go down as one of the most memorable series ever. Ray Allen rescued the Miami Heat in Game 6 with an unforgettable shot. LeBron James sealed Game 7 with a 17-foot jumper to give his team a second consecutive ring. The heartbreaking loss propelled the Spurs to return the following year with some of the most beautiful basketball ever played.
Horford didn’t have a ticket for the most dramatic parts of the series. He attended Game 2, which Miami won by running away late in the second half. James provided the exclamation point when he met Tiago Splitter at the rim to reject the big man’s block attempt. The Heat evened the series that night. And Horford, much like Budenholzer…