Gadshill’s Art Horne celebrates after winning NBA title with Celtics

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Art Horne, the Boston Celtics’ head trainer and director of performance from Gadshill, was asked how he was doing Tuesday afternoon at the start of a phone call.

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It was one of those times where you could feel what someone was saying, even separated by hundreds of kilometres.

“I couldn’t be better,” he said.

Horne’s champagne-soaked cell was still buzzing hours after celebrating an NBA title with the franchise he’s been with since 2017. Yet, the moment hadn’t quite sunk in.

“I never really gave it much thought,” he said. “It’s been something I’m still thinking about today. It’s been wild. It will hit me later this week.”

The Stratford Northwestern alumnus, now 47, has been instrumental in the Celtics’ culture shift under Brad Stevens, its former head coach and current president of basketball operations. Boston has focused on bringing in good people throughout the organization, and Horne wrote the book on team values that is given to new employees.

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“Good things happen to good people,” Horne said, “and Brad and all the work he’s put in. . . , It’s not just Xs and Os, but being particular about good human beings and surrounding yourself with top-notch individuals.”

One of those Horne thought of in the aftermath of Monday’s series-clinching Game 5 win over Dallas was Al Horford. He got to know the Celtics’ veteran when both were with the Atlanta Hawks. The title — Boston’s 18th — was Horford’s first since joining the league as a third-overall pick in 2007.

“He’s the ultimate professional, and I know how much it means to him,” Horne said. “That was really special.”

It was the second time Horne had been to the final with the Celtics, who lost in six games to Golden State in 2022. Boston won the first and third games of that series but ended up watching the Warriors celebrate winning a championship in Beantown.

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Last season ended in the conference final after almost coming back from a three-game deficit to Miami. The Celtics lost in Game 7 on a night when star Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle.

“I always think about why I started watching basketball, and the (Chicago) Bulls kept losing to the (Detroit) Pistons,” Horne said. “I always thought you have to go through some hardships before it’s your time. That’s how you learn is to go through those things.”

The 2023-24 squad was more selfless and mature, Horne said, and players embraced adversity under head coach Joe Mazzulla.

“One of the things Brad has said before . . .  success leaves fingerprints. All the banners that already exist all have lessons. If you listen carefully, they’ll whisper to you and tell you how the greatest teams were constructed and won. This last banner provides more evidence and lessons . . .  and proves the culture Brad and others fostered produced championship results.”

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Horne was already back to work on draft prep less than 24 hours after the biggest win of his life.

But he was also able to savour the moment a little longer with his brother and two sisters in town. They sat at Horne’s kitchen table the next morning drinking coffee and reflecting on what just happened.

There’s a picture of Horne in the Celtics’ locker room holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy while wearing a championship T-shirt and ski goggles.

“That’s the stuff you see on TV that doesn’t seem real,” he said. “For a kid from Gadshill, you see that in any pro sport and that’s the furthest thing from your mind and you think isn’t going to happen. Then you find yourself in that and this is bizarre.”

cosmith@postmedia.com

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