Sport: Basketball
Born: February 17, 1980
Town: Roselle, New Jersey
Albert Harrington was born February 17, 1980 in Orange and grew up in Roselle, NJ. A big, agile shooter who didn’t play a minute of organized basketball until his teens, Al was nonetheless tabbed as a future NBA star from the time he entered St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth. His teammates with the Celtics included future pros Samuel Dalembert and Herve Lamizana. Al was named all-state in each of his four varsity seasons.
As a senior in 1997–98, Al came into his own as a McDonald’s All-American, and was named USA Today National Player of the Year. He averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds a game and was recruited by dozens of schools. He had narrowed his choices down to Seton Hall and Georgia Tech when he began thinking seriously about skipping college and going straight to the NBA. Conversations with his cousin, Dahntay Jones—and with Kevin Garnett—convinced him to take a chance.
The Indiana Pacers selected Al with the 25th pick in the draft. He was a bench player for his first three seasons, and was beginning to make an impact in his fourth when he injured his knee. He came back in 2002–03 and was a finalist for the Sixth Man Award in 2003–04, and was a key piece of the Pacers’ run to the conference finals that spring. At 6’9″, he could play all three front line positions.
Al was traded to the Hawks after the season. He became a starter in Atlanta, where he averaged better than 17 points and 7 rebounds a night. Al was traded back to Indiana after two seasons, and then went to the Warriors and the Knicks. He had his two best seasons as a pro in New York, regularly scoring 20 a game.
Al was on the other side of 30 at this point and the Knicks let him go. The Nuggets picked him up and he played two seasons in Denver before concluding his career with the Magic and Wizards. Al’s final NBA season was 2013–14 with Washington. He averaged 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists for his career. Al played two more seasons of pro ball overseas—one in China and another in Australia—and joined Ice Cube’s Big3 basketball league and won the first championship before calling it quits.
After basketball, Al devoted himself full-time to Viola, a cannabis company he started in 2011. He was inspired to get into the business by his grandmother, who suffered from glaucoma.