The Boston Celtics big man flinched while waiting for a rebound under the basket during a free throw attempt in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday.
Al Horford has a real fear of free throw rebounds pic.twitter.com/yHg0Nir4io
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 28, 2018
The ball wasn’t actually live, which makes him flinching even more humorous. And that apparently is the whole point of it.
Horford told Celtics.com reporter Taylor Snow last month why he does that.
Mystery solved! @Al_Horford reveals to me the reasoning behind his renowned rebound-flinching act. pic.twitter.com/Lu3BxhgjAW
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) April 3, 2018
“I just try to keep it loose sometimes for the guys,” Horford told Snow. “The game is so serious at times – and I take it very serious – but there are times that you put things in perspective. That’s something I’ve been doing for years. I kinda stopped doing it. The other night I was just messing around … I just started doing it. I don’t think I’ve done it very much this year. This might be the second or third time. A lot of the times I just try to get a laugh out of the guys, my teammates on the bench. That’s kinda what I go for. I’m sure people are curious. Now they know.”
For a guy who has averaged 8.6 rebounds per game in his career, seeing that reaction made little sense. But now we know he’s just putting on a show.
