Teaming up with Al Horford against Celtics will be ‘weird,’ Kristaps Porzingis says

Boston Celtics

“If somebody said that while we were in Boston, that this would be the scenario, who would believe this?”

Two years ago, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford were wearing green and competing to bring an NBA-record 18th championship back to Boston.

On Thursday night, they’ll welcome the Celtics as visitors. After an offseason signing and a trade at the deadline, both Horford and Porzingis are now members of the Golden State Warriors.

Thursday night will be Porzingis’s first game in a Warriors uniform. He has been out for a month while dealing with POTS and an Achilles’ injury.

It’s going to be nice to see some former teammates and coaches, he said, but it will also feel strange.

“Weird. If somebody said that while we were in Boston, that this would be the scenario, who would believe this?” Porzingis said. “But this is how it works. It works out. Obviously we expect for Boston to have some changes with the remaining stuff, but yeah, it’s going to be weird, especially first game back against Boston.”

Porzingis was with the Celtics for two seasons. Horford had two stints in Boston, totaling seven seasons. Horford said the relationships he built with the Celtics over the years are still important to him.

“I get to see a lot of people that I care about, and we’ll compete on the court and that goes on but after we’ll be able to catch up with a lot of people,” Horford said. “It’s just very special to me. For me, it’s a lot of excitement and my son Ian has been raving about seeing a lot of the guys and seeing a lot of the coaches. The whole thing, it will be cool to see everyone.”

This season is the first time Horford has played on the West Coast. His previous stops include Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Oklahoma City. He said the move to the Bay Area has been good for his family.

“It’s obviously been different for us,” Horford said. “But it’s been good. It’s been good for [Ian], it’s been good for us as a family. So, it’s good.”

The Warriors will be without Stephen Curry Thursday night. Curry is dealing with knee pain. Porzingis will be a versatile scoring threat for them. Head coach Steve Kerr said he anticipates Porzingis being an easy fit within the Golden State offense, and Porzingis seemed to agree.

“I like the offense, I like the simplicity in a way, and I like the freedom,” Porzingis said. “That’s the hardest to guard because we don’t even know what we’re doing exactly a lot of times. It’s just playing freely, but you have to have the talent to do that. If the whole team is back, it’s unbelievable talent with this group.”

“But now, with what I’ve seen, I really like the style and us as players have to take advantage of having this kind of offense and flow and things that we’re allowed to do.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.