With one more victory — one more magical, affirming, championship-clinching victory — Al Horford will have completed his 17th season in the NBA.
He has played in 1,078 regular-season games, and the Celtics’ 106-99 victory over the Mavericks in Game 3 of the Finals Wednesday night was his 184th playoff game.
Horford has experienced so much, and seen so much more. He has context. He has lived context.
His sharp-focused perspective, which the 38-year-old possessed even as a young player, includes an acute and astute sense for what will be remembered and what will fade.