Due to their successes on the court, Al Horford, Trevor Ariza and Karl Anthony Towns have become the ambassadors of Dominican basketball in the NBA and central figures of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.
Horford, the Dominican Godfather’
Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso is a five-time NBA All-Star player who has played with four teams, won two NCAA titles and represented the Dominican Republic in international competitions.
The 6’9” player originally from Puerto Plata, can comfortably play power forward or center.
This has allowed him, in addition to becoming the sixth Dominican to join the NBA, to be the first selected to an All-Star Game.
Horford’s path to the NBA started with a scholarship to the University of Florida. Playing for the Gators, he headlined a team that won two NCAA titles under coach Billy Donovan while scoring over a thousand points over his three years there.
In 2007, Horford was picked third overall in the NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks and stood out as an emerging star in his rookie season, as an integral part of the team’s playoff run.
In his third year as a pro, Horford was selected to the East All-Star team and remained a star player for the Hawks for the next several years. After the 2015-16 season, he became a free agent and signed a three year $27 million deal with the Boston Celtics.
Later in 2019, he reached a four year agreement to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, but the following year he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he only played for half a season before the team made the call for him to sit the remainder of the season in favor of younger talent.
Horford will return to the Celtics next season after the Thunder traded him for guard Kemba Walker and two draft picks.
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Welcome home, @Al_Horford ☘️ pic.twitter.com/2h9QaGT9Qw
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 18, 2021
Ariza, the Dominican NBA gypsy
Trevor Anthony Ariza’s career in the NBA could well serve as a plot for a movie, since in the 17 years of his professional career he has changed teams 12 times.
Although Ariza was born in Miami, Florida, he has Dominican and Turkish-Caique ancestry through his grandfather Osvaldo Ariza, a native of Puerto Plata and his mother Lolita, a former Miss Turks and Caicos, a native of Grand Turk Island.
During his time in high school, Trevor’s ability to play all positions on the court allowed him to stand out above his teammates. In college he only played one season as a member of the UCLA Bruins, averaging 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals, before he opted for the NBA draft.
In 2004, Ariza was selected by the New York Knicks 43rd overall in the Draft and during his two seasons with the team he became the second-youngest rookie to play 80 games in the NBA.
From then on, “The Switchblade”, as his fans call him, began his pilgrimage through the league. He had stints with the Orlando Magic (2006-2007), Los Angeles Lakers (2007-2009), Houston Rockets (2009-10), New Orleans Hornets (2010-2012), Washington Wizards (2012-2014), Houston Rockets (2014-2018), Phoenix Suns (2018), Washington Wizards (2018-2019), Sacramento Kings (2019-2020), Portland Trail Blazers (2020), Oklahoma City Thunder (2020-2021), Miami Heat (2021 ) and Los Angeles Lakers (2021-present).
In November of last year, over the course of one week, Trevor was traded three times, from Portland to Houston, from Houston to Detroit (without debuting) and from Detroit to Oklahoma City.
Opening games this year have been heat
— Trevor Ariza burner (@Bopyataco) September 14, 2021
The Big KAT
Karl-Anthony Towns, who was born in New Jersey began his career at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. The high school All-American led his team to state championships in each of his three seasons there.
Towns only played one season with the University of Kentucky Wildcats, the year his team made it to the Final Four. His outstanding performances as a player allowed him to sign a long-term advertising contract with Nike before turning pro.
In 2015, “The Big Kat” was the number one pick in the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was the first Latino player to go number one, and also Rookie of the Year.
Playing for the Dominican Republic national team since he was 16 years old, Karl-Anthony was part of the 2012 Centrobasket championship team. Led by him, the Dominicans took fourth place in the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship.
Start the weekend off right.
? @ChuckyAnthony
?? @proactivesp pic.twitter.com/EjdGR65wqP— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) August 8, 2021