The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals and Al Horford finally reached the NBA Finals after a record 141 playoff games.
With Horford in the final stage of the playoffs, a new player now holds the record of most playoff games played without reaching the NBA Finals. That player is Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Millsap.
Millsap has played in 130 playoff games and has never made it to the championship match. He and Paul George (108) are the only active players on the top five list of NBA stars who never played in the Finals.
George is fifth on that list, which is rounded out by Joe Johnson and Steve Nash at 120, and Terry Cummings at 110. Millsap, 37, will likely end his career without ever tasting the glory of winning a conference title.
Al Horford deserves NBA Finals berth more than anyone
Horford, 35, was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, the Hawks got eliminated in Game 7 of the First Round by the Celtics.
Atlanta reached the postseason the following two season but got swept both times in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The next three seasons were riddled with injury for Horford but still managed to play in a few playoff games.
In 2015, Horford helped Atlanta reach the ECF for the first time since the 1960s, but got swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who also eliminated Big Al’s Hawks the following season in the second round. Horford then joined Boston but would once again lose to the Cavs in the ECF two years in a row.
Following a stint with the Sixers and another with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Horford returned to the Celtics in 2021 and is now in the NBA Finals. He is also the first player from the Dominican Republic to reach the final stage of the NBA Playoffs.
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