GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 20, 2026

Al Horford

Media Conference

Q. Just how would you assess how this season went for you just between the injuries and everything that happened with the team?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, I felt like it was, you know, a good season for me, learning experience being in a new environment and seeing things in different ways.

But I think it was good in that sense. Obviously not pleased with some of the injuries and missing some of the games and obviously everything that happened with our group. As a team we didn't accomplish or achieve what we wanted to, so that wasn't it.

But individually I felt like it was good for me. Still at year 19 I feel like I'm still developing and growing, so that was positive. I felt like it was a positive step for me basketball-wise.

Q. You didn't need to come here. You were an accomplished NBA player way before you even got here. What brought you here? And I assume you probably want to keep going, but where do you stand on that?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, you know, I felt like it was a nice opportunity and a challenge to be here and to play with some of these great players and this great franchise. That's the reality of being here.

And for me, you know, these next few -- about this week, week and a half, I'll be speaking with Amelia and just thinking about everything and seeing kind of what we're going to do with our future. So that's kind of where we're at.

Q. So you've not decided yet what you want to do?

AL HORFORD: Not yet, no.

Q. How much do you like it here?

AL HORFORD: We really like it here. Yeah, yeah, we like it.

Q. Steve's future is obviously uncertain right now. Just what has your experience been with him this season just having him as your coach and what have you kind of gotten from that?

AL HORFORD: It's been a very positive experience for me. You know, Steve is such a legendary coach already in his own, and just getting to see how he operates, how he thinks, it's been great for me to be able to learn and see those things.

For me it's just a really big learning experience, just trying to take different things in and just see how I can be better and see how he does things and how he is thinking the game and things like that.

So it's been a very positive experience.

Q. When it comes to your future, what are some of the factors that you and your family might consider in terms of how you want the rest of your career to unfold?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, I mean, I think that for me it has to do with not rushing to anything or not let emotions or heat of the moment determine anything.

I just think I've done this the last few years, and it's just kind of taken time to step back and have a clear picture, look at the outlook of the team, looking at the future of the team, how things look, and also seeing kind of where I'm at and how I'm feeling.

Fortunately for me, I'm healthy. I feel good. I still feel like I can contribute and play at a very high level still. Those are all things that I'm going to look at. Now that everything kind of gets quiet, you know, it's something that I'll reflect on all that.

Q. To follow up on exactly that, obviously you have a decision with the option, whatever you're going to do the next couple of weeks. Is retirement off the table? Are you confident that you'll play somewhere next year?

AL HORFORD: That's a good question. That's a really good question. Yeah, definitely that's been on my mind. I enjoy, you know, playing and being in this position. Definitely taking all that stuff into consideration.

Q. Both Quinton and Charles talked about how you've kind of helped them along, big men. I remember I asked you a while back, I said, are you going to coach? You were, like, no, I don't think so. It seems like you have a lot to offer. What is it you try to do for the young guys on this team? What kind of advice did you offer those guys?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, for me it's really trying to, you know, give them perspective, but also trying to help them, you know, see things and try to help them become better players and trying to understand kind of how the league operates and works and things like that.

Any chance that I can to talk to them or give them advice or tell them different things, that's what I've tried to do. You know, in this season making sure that I'm always making myself available if they have questions or if they want to talk about the game or experiences of mine.

Always just trying to be mindful to help them. Just finding a way to kind of pay it forward and be there for them.

Q. Those four threes that you banged in L.A., does that tell you anything about yourself that you didn't already know?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, it was rewarding. To answer your question, I think yes, I think it told me that I have that ability to be able to do that. In that point, it was, like, you know, I work so hard to put myself in those positions and to be able to be in those moments so when those moments come or at any point, I feel like I'm capable that, I can do that.

I put in a lot of work. I put in a lot of time, but I'm confident that those displays, I could continue to do those types of displays.

Q. What's your favorite moment in this season?

AL HORFORD: My favorite moment in the season. Man, I think, you know, there's -- I would have to say that win against the Clippers. Going on the road and being in the play-in.

You know, it wasn't quite playoff basketball, but kind of fighting for your playoff lives and giving ourselves an opportunity. I felt like our group was so resilient that game. We've already had so much adversity, and then being down multiple times and not knowing what was going to happen, but for us to find a way to group -- band together as a group and figure it out and win the game, it felt very rewarding in a season that, you know, that we were just kind of our backs against the wall all year and bad news after bad news or different things happening.

Finding a way to still care and try to represent the Warriors in the right way, That to me was important. I know that our fans appreciated that, and I think they understand that we didn't -- we gave everything we had for the fans, and we appreciate the fans in that matter, and I think it showed with the way that we played.

Even the Phoenix game obviously we lost that, but I felt like we were playing hard and we were trying to do our best.

Q. Al, obviously when you got here, the hope was that there could be title contention. You mentioned injuries, 100 things happened. The thought process in the next few weeks, there's a reality that that may not happen here. How much would that impact your decision of whatever you decide to do for next year?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, I don't know. I think those are all things that are fair questions and that we'll have to ask and address. Like I said, I like being here. We've gotten acclimated, my family and I, to be here.

Those are questions, all that stuff, is going to be going through our minds.

Q. When the Celtics were here I guess a few months ago at this point you said your departure from Boston was about something bigger than basketball. What did you mean by that?

AL HORFORD: Yeah, that's a question that kind of stayed out there, kind of open-ended. Well, what I meant by that was that a lot of the times, you know, when people are making decisions or making decisions, there's also the things that you see and the things that kind of make sense for the human eye and the things like that, but the way that I operate and that I've carried my career, it's been through my faith.

When I went to Boston -- man, that was ten years ago, so it was ten years ago. Boston wasn't what it was now. They were in the middle of a team that they just lost to the Hawks, and I was on that Hawks team, and we beat them.

There was other places that I could have gone that would have put me in a better position, but I chose to go to Boston and take that chance, but I took it because of my faith, because that was the place for me that I felt that it was that I needed to be.

Then when all of this happened, I felt like it was time for me -- or I shouldn't say I felt like, knew that it was time for me to move on. Nothing to do with Boston, but, again, following my faith, my belief, and I knew that I had to go elsewhere.

When I looked at it I felt like here was a place for me to be able to do things, and sometimes it's bigger than basketball for me. That's what I meant by that.

There are other things that I need to do and accomplish, and that's why that decision was made. It wasn't an easy decision for me to leave Boston, because for me I was very happy there with my family and everything.

But I just felt like -- I didn't feel like. I knew it was the right time, and this was the next challenge and the next step for me. Now I'm here, and it's going to be interesting to see kind of what happens now, but I have to be able to embrace this new challenge that I have.

Q. What are some of those things that you wanted to accomplish, and do you feel like you did this year?

AL HORFORD: Well, I mean, you know, I think time will tell with some of these things, but you know, I came here to try to contend and try to win a championship, and I don't shy away from that.

I failed helping the team do that, and we failed as a group. But, you know, that's still something that would be -- if I decide to come back here and decide to continue to play, it's something that it's in my sights and something that we would like to accomplish.