Happy to see Gordon Hayward thriving with the Hornets, Boston’s Al Horford recounts what might have been

The former teammates will face each other at TD Garden Wednesday.

One of the most important moments of Boston Celtics veteran big man Al Horford’s previous stint with the team was unfortunately the catastrophic injury of teammate Gordon Hayward at the start of the Butler product’s tenure with the franchise.

That unfortunate play transformed the promising potential of the team in an instant in ways that would eventually see Horford leave the team in free agency and Hayward as well once whole again. Now, with Horford back with the Celtics as they rebuild the foundation that disaster would eventually necessitate, Hayward will soon travel to the city he once called home to play the Florida product and his former team.

Speaking with the media ahead of Hayward’s first return to TD Garden as a Charlotte Hornet Wednesday, Horford shared his thoughts on what might have been had his teammate not shattered his ankle that day.