Waiting to pick up his children from school on a cold November afternoon in Boston, Al Horford is sitting in his car.
In sharp contrast to the competitive environment the public is accustomed to seeing him in, it’s a charming situation. The 37-year-old center for the Boston Celtics was playing the Memphis Grizzlies two days earlier in Memphis, Tennessee. His team will return to TD Garden, their home court, in a day, and then take a plane to Orlando for another game.
However, while he waits for his children to arrive, Horford has traded in his green and white jersey for a casual orange sweatshirt and brown beanie.
“I want to be as involved and present as I can when I’m at home,” he said to Business Insider.
Being a family man while working a schedule that involves a lot of travel, according to Horford, is difficult. As he raises their five children—Ean, 8, Alía, 7, Ava, 5, Nova, 2, and Mila, 1—he depends on his wife, Amelia Vega, for support.
Horford, who has collaborated with SimpliSafe, said he feels somewhat at rest when he FaceTimes his family or even uses an app to monitor everyone through a home security system.
“With my life and the way that I travel, it’s something that is constantly on my mind — making sure that they’re taken care of, that they’re doing well, that they’re in a good place,” he said.
