14.5 PPG, 1.4 APG, 9.1 RPG, 54 FG%, 72 FT%
Robert Parish played in more games than any other player in NBA history. A 7-1 center who combined strength, agility and remarkable endurance, Parish won three NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s and teamed with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to form one of the greatest front lines in NBA history. He capped his career by winning yet another championship ring as a member of the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls.
Parish, whose signature shot was a high trajectory jumper that seemed to kiss the banners at Boston Garden before finding its way to the basket, announced his retirement at age 43 following the 1996-97 season, his 21st in the NBA, and after playing in 1,611 games. Upon his retirement, Parish ranked 13th in the NBA in scoring with 23,334 points, sixth in rebounds with 14,715, sixth in blocked shots with 2,361 and eighth in field goals made with 9,614.
“He’s probably the best medium-range shooting big man in the history of the game,” said Hall of Famer Bill Walton, who was Parish’s backup in the Celtics’ 1986 championship season.
The Warriors traded Parish to Boston in 1980, and he enjoyed a remarkable 14-year run with the Celtics. In his tenure with the club, the Celtics went to the playoffs 13 times, won nine Atlantic Division titles, reached the NBA Finals five times and came away with three NBA titles. [Read]
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)
June 15th, 2008 at 4:01 am
Parish’s stats are very meager…without a ring, this dude had NO chance of making the Hall…