One day after concluding his 18th NBA season, Al Horford said he had yet to decide on his plan for Year 19.

Asked Saturday whether he planned to play another season and hoped to remain in Boston, the Celtics big man said he was not yet ready to make those decisions.

“I’m going to take some time here with my wife and my kids and just that,” Horford, who is an impending unrestricted free agent, said after the New York Knicks eliminated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. “But it’s not even been a day, so there’s still a lot for me to process, and just feeling everything out from last night, that was difficult.”

That was a departure from what Horford, who turns 39 on June 3, said just one month earlier. While attending the NCAA national championship in early April, the Celtics’ elder statesman told a reporter he planned to play next season. Why the change in messaging?

“I’m just not ready to talk about that right now,” said Horford, who spent seven of the last nine seasons in Boston and was a key part of the team’s 2023-24 championship squad. “I just need some time with my wife and my family, and that’s what I plan on doing these next few weeks.”

Horford was asked whether Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury, which is expected to sideline the Celtics star for most or all of next season, was contributing to his hesitancy.

“I just think everything is just still very fresh for me,” he replied. “Those are all things that I’ll be thinking about these next few weeks.”

Though he was one of the NBA’s oldest players this season, Horford remained effective for Boston, appearing in 60 games with 42 starts and delivering standout performances against the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic. He blocked five shots in a first-round playoff game against Orlando, prompting head coach Joe Mazzulla to say: “There should be a separate stat sheet for guys like him because of the type of stuff that he does.”

Horford also is a universally respected voice in the Celtics’ locker room. Multiple Boston teammates said they hope he stays.

“I mean, you can’t replace Al,” Payton Pritchard said. “So I definitely hope we can get that figured out, because just his locker room presence alone is crucial. And then having him on the court, just for all the young guys to see how he goes about his business how professional he is, he’s just a leader. So we definitely need him back.”

“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had at any single level,” Sam Hauser added. “… He’s got five kids at home, he’s gotta be really efficient when he’s here, but he’s always in early getting his pre-court in and getting his rehab in, getting his treatment in, getting his shots up, doing whatever it takes to be prepared on the court but then also knowing he’s gotta be a father at home too for five kids. … So I appreciate him and obviously we would love to have him back, but I’m sure he’s going to take his time and do what’s right for him. Whatever he decides, that’s the right decision.”

Fellow big man Luke Kornet, who also is set to hit free agency, called Horford “the best teammate I’ve ever played with.”

“He’s obviously meant a lot to our team and this franchise,” Kornet said, “and he’s obviously an incredibly accomplished player and great, but I feel like in terms of an identity for the team, so much of it is him and his leadership.”

Beyond his personal desires, the Celtics’ financial situation also could influence whether Horford returns for 2025-26. They’re expected to make substantial changes to their roster this offseason and might have limited money to offer a player like Horford, who made $9.5 million this season.

Holiday hopes to stay

As an aging player with a high salary, Jrue Holiday has been viewed as a potential trade candidate during what could be a busy offseason of roster movement for the Celtics.

He hopes that isn’t the case.

The veteran guard said in his end-of-season news conference that he wants to remain with Boston — and that he still believes the Celtics can contend for a championship next season, even with Tatum expected to miss a large portion of the season.

“I think we still have a really, really great opportunity and a great window to win a championship again,” Holiday said Saturday. “I think the talent that we have on this team, not only on the court, but the coaching staff, all the way up to Brad (Stevens), has been amazing. So the opportunity to win is now, and I still want to be a part of that.”

Holiday’s arrival last offseason helped turn the Celtics from contenders into champions. His numbers dipped near career lows this season (11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists per game) as he dealt with finger, shoulder and hamstring injuries that caused him to miss 20 regular-season games and three playoff games.

“We had a pretty good regular season,” Holiday said. “Obviously took care of our business there, 60-win season, had everybody fairly healthy. I went through a couple injuries here and there but did my best to prepare for it all season, and just felt like we fell short.”

Though he still is widely regarded as one of the NBA’s best and most versatile defenders, Holiday will be 35 when next season tips off and has three years remaining on his contract, all with salaries above $32 million. The Celtics are expected to make changes to their championship-winning roster this summer to cut payroll and attempt to avoid the worst of the NBA’s prohibitive luxury tax penalties. As currently constructed, Boston’s 2025-26 roster is projected to be the most expensive in NBA history between salaries and tax sanctions.

“I think that we had the best team in the league,” Holiday said. “Obviously doing it last year, but the chemistry that we had, that we built from last season, even coming into this postseason and how we were feeling, I feel like we are disappointed in ourselves. We felt like we let the organization down and the city down.”

Pritchard confident

Pritchard echoed Holiday’s stance that the Celtics’ championship window isn’t closed. He believes Boston still can follow a similar path to the San Antonio Spurs, who won five NBA titles between 1999 and 2014 but never won two in a row.

“The emotions, you know, you just lost Game 6,” Pritchard said. “It’s disappointing, but I look at it like the Spurs, right? You consider them having a dynasty. They never went back-to-back. But since they never went back-to-back, are all those years that they didn’t win a failure, or did all those years help them win the next championship? So it’s about attacking the next year and the year after that and never giving up on trying to achieve being on top of the mountain again. So (I’ll) attack this summer personally, and our team, we’ll get better and put ourselves in a position to compete for another one.”

The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year also is confident he’ll reach a higher level as a player next season.

“I feel like I’m on the right path, and I’ll continue that,” Pritchard said. “I will be a better player next year.”