The Golden State Warriors have made a key decision regarding veteran center Al Horford ahead of Thursday's game against the Denver Nuggets.

In the 2022 NBA Finals opener, Horford hit six 3s and scored 26 points in San Francisco, wresting away immediate series control for the Boston Celtics as he ached for his first title in his 15th season. It was one of the best games of his career. But it was soon followed by one of the most devastating.

Al Horford joined the Golden State Warriors over the offseason, but he said his prior run-ins with Steph Curry had him questioning the move.

The Golden State Warriors got off to a hot start in their 2025-26 campaign, taking down the Los Angeles Lakers with a convincing road win in Tuesday's season op

It was an uncomfortable sight for Celtics fans: Marcus Smart in Laker gold and purple, squaring off against Al Horford in his fresh Warriors uniform. The former Boston fan favorites debuted for their new Western Conference teams late Tuesday night, coming off their respective benches in the Warriors’ 119-109 victory at Crypto.com Arena.

Along with not playing in back-to-backs, Horford will also be on a form of minutes restriction for the Warriors. Kerr mentioned Horford will play 20 minutes per night for the Warriors. Horford has played 26 minutes or more per game throughout his career. Last season with the Celtics, Horford played 27.7 minutes per contest.

Even though Horford is unlikely to be a major presence in the paint, he's still a disruptive defensive player. The Florida alum also has the shooting touch to make for a perfect fit in an offense with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler commanding a lot of attention.

When Al Horford sat down to dinner with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler in San Diego this summer, he wasn’t a Warrior yet. But he was close, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN.

Al Horford will play on the front side of the Warriors’ first back-to-back of the season tomorrow night against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. That would rule Horford out of the GSW game in Portland on Friday night. Moses Moody remains out vs Denver.