Al Horford won his first NBA championship in the 186th playoff appearance of his NBA career. Celtics Winning the title in 2024 With Boston not winning this year, Horford was removed from that list of shameful moments, as he was all but certain to (eventually) surpass Karl Malone’s (193) career playoff games without a win.
After the game, Horford was understandably excited to finally get his first championship ring after 17 years in the NBA.
Al Horford: “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. There’s a lot of emotions going on right now, but I don’t think it’s over. It’s unbelievable. It’s like confetti, everything is happening, and it just hasn’t sunk in yet.” pic.twitter.com/kGOAtUdV8k
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) June 18, 2024
But Horford’s victory gave James Harden the coveted honor: His 166 playoff games without a ring not only ranks fourth-most in NBA history, but also the most among active NBA players.
From StatMuseThe next closest is former Rockets teammate Chris Paul with 149.
With the NBA Finals over, Harden is now eligible to begin negotiations with the Clippers as a free agent under the new NBA rules that will go into effect this year, to negotiate a new contract to stay in Los Angeles. Given the franchise’s historic playoff struggles, it seems unlikely that Harden will continue to sit atop the leaderboard that no modern NBA player wants to sit on, but there is a small silver lining. At the very least, it’s unlikely that the 34-year-old Harden will be able to make a long playoff run with Los Angeles and surpass Malone and John Stockton (182) to move into the top two on the all-time list.
Isn’t that amazing?
Harden may be looking to win a title to end his career and put an end to this streak, at least for now. Self-proclaimed “winner” It looks like they’re planning on clinging to that notoriety for a while.
But at least it looks like he’s ready to get a different type of ring soon!
Congratulations, James!
