The Boston Celtics faced off against the Golden State Warriors tonight, beating them 121-110 in a hard-fought game. Star forward Jaylen Brown led his team with a rare triple-double, and after the game, he sent a message to his former teammates, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, who are now his rivals on the Warriors.

“Well, those guys helped us win a championship in 2024,” he said during the postgame interview. “No better way to give respect to them than by giving them the belt tonight.”

The message quickly made waves, but the comment wasn’t personal; it was a light-hearted joke that showcased his competitiveness at the expense of former teammates and, likely, his close friends. In his mind, the ultimate form of respect is going for a career night against former teammates, taking them down without getting caught up in the sentiment of shared history.

Horford and Porzingis were both key parts of Boston’s 2024 championship roster, serving as the basis of the team’s center rotation alongside Luke Kornet, leaning into Boston’s identity of floor spacing and defensive versatility anchoring the frontcourt. Their combination gave the Celtics a unique two-way playing style, especially when Porzingis wasn’t dealing with POTS.

Now, both find themselves on the other sideline, facing former teammates. That doesn’t mean the friendship is gone. Even during the game, one moment between Porzingis and Celtics guard Payton Pritchard stood out, when, after a foul, the two jokingly kept pulling the ball from each other while laughing.

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At the end of the day, Brown’s comments just show that even though they were teammates, Boston’s mindset remains pointed at the championship, and they’re not easing up regardless of who’s in front of them.

Porzingis and Horford Reflect on Emotional Jaylen Brown and Celtics Reunion

On the other end of the equation, ahead of the Warriors‘ matchup against the Celtics, both Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford spoke about facing off against Jaylen Brown and other former teammates.

“Weird,” Porzingis told reporters upon being asked about what he felt. “If somebody said that while we were in Boston, that this would be the scenario, who would believe this?”

The veteran big man acknowledged the business side of the NBA, adding that roster changes are impossible to avoid, but did state that stepping against his former team for the first time this season has an emotional weight to it.

“I get to see a lot of people that I care about,” Horford told reporters. “We’ll compete on the court and that goes on but after we’ll be able to catch up with a lot of people.”

Horford made it clear that the reunion felt “very special,” and highlighted the multiple connections he has made over his two tenures in Boston. He even shared that his son, Ian, has been especially eager to see familiar faces again.

Despite how they felt, like Brown, both Porzingis and Horford made it clear that once they were on the floor, the matchup would contain the same intensity they share for any other opponent.