I don’t think NBA players “hate each other” anymore, at least not like they used to. Even when Draymond Green threw his fist at Jusuf Nurkic, the NBA’s global sympathy (including Nurkic) showered him with the message that he simply needed help. Gone are the days of Bill Laimbeer’s or Danny Ainge’s clotheslines. It’s largely a buddy-buddy league.

But there are still a few player rivalries, and two of them suspiciously include Al Horford. His feuds with Joel Embiid are well documented, but people may forget his one true nemesis; the man who actually won a ring and delivered some of the most individually destructive performances against Boston this century: Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Monday night’s win brought another showdown between the two. Horford came out of the ring with his defensive stance spread and fended off Giannis at the edge. This may seem like something he just…does at this point, but it’s truly a sight to behold.

Can we as humans actually understand how ridiculous it is that 38-year-old Horford sees Giannis mad Antetokounmpo rushing toward him and thinks nothing other than, “Everyone else is going away… I got that?” Either Horford has that in Framingham Fountain of youth found, or he has the special ability to get himself fit for the toughest matches. He didn’t score that many points – Payton Pritchard had that under control (which is ridiculous in itself) – but he was focused on Giannis all night long and refused to let his age get in the way of his insane performance.

Where does this iron determination come from? (sets the history cap) Well, it all started a little over two years ago.

It was the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals when the pre-death Celtics somehow defeated the greatest player I’ve ever seen play basketball in every sense of the word: Giannis Antetokounmpo between May 1-15, 2022. He was unstoppable with two 20+ point and 20+ rebound games, three 40 burgers. It took the biggest game of Jayson Tatum’s career to pull off Game 6, but people forget the absolute grudge match it took to make it happen.

The only man standing in his way was a psycho version of Al Horford, who somehow lost his mind in Game 4 due to 30 points and an unimaginably memorable nod followed by that slam that may have left him elbowed Giannis lost in the face.

This is an iconic Horford moment, and you know he never turned off the stove that burned the house down in 2022. He just lets it continue to simmer.

Monday night was another chapter and proved Horford’s special place on this Celtics team. No one else has the maturity and determination necessary to stare at one of the most physically dominant players of all time and say he’s got it. Who else will produce this photo?

Kristaps Porzingis may be this team’s true X-factor, but when Horford retires at the end of this year, he won’t be easy to replace. He’s more impactful than his stats suggest and has slowed down a player who will overwhelm you if given the chance. The Celtics will miss what he brings, so let’s enjoy it while we have it.