u200bThis story appears in the October 3, 2016, issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. To subscribe, click here.
Shortly after leaving the only NBA team he’s ever known, Al Horford was in Boston with a friend he’s known since his rookie season. It was early July. He was throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park. David Ortiz was waiting at the plate.
The delivery took a few extra seconds.
Horford’s son, Ean, 17 months old, was on the mound with him, but he was scared of the crowd. He’d wrapped himself around his father’s leg and refused to let go.