Welcome to the NBA 75, The Athletic’s countdown of the 75 best players in NBA history, in honor of the league’s diamond anniversary. From Nov. 1 through Feb. 18, we’ll unveil a new player on the list every weekday except for Dec. 27-31, culminating with the man picked by a panel of The Athletic NBA staff members as the greatest of all time.
“You’re the reason Robert Parish made our top 75 list.”
Me?
“Yes, you ranked him so high (45) that it kept him on the list.”
Wait, what?
“You should write about him since your vote made the difference.”
That’s not entirely accurate. Another voter and I are both the reason “The Chief” made the list. We both had him in not only our top 75 but also in the 40s on our list — 45 for me, 40 for him.
But I am shocked Parish landed there (or was this low) because he is everything we preach about how to be in sports, how to be in basketball.
Don’t let anybody tell you anything about Parish other than that he was a bad man. Some people believe Parish’s career is propped up by the idea that he was on a brilliant Boston Celtics franchise. And to be fair, I think you need to account for that on some level. Certain organizations do carry more weight than others when it comes to how players are considered. Wait until you see how many of the Celtics from the 1950s and ’60s made the top 75 list because they happened to be on the team with the greatest winner in professional sports history, Bill Russell.
That’s not what happened with Parish on my list — or on the NBA’s official top 75 list.
Parish was a monster in the making (and put up big numbers at tiny Centenary — even if the NCAA didn’t acknowledge his existence). It’s why Red Auerbach traded for him and the third pick in the 1980 draft, which ended up being Kevin McHale, in one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history.
Despite a reputation for being lackadaisical in his first four seasons in the league for the Golden State Warriors, Parish was building toward putting up some good numbers — a solid defender with 15.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and a couple of blocks every night in his last three seasons with Golden State. However, the state of the Warriors was crushing his soul. He wasn’t on the wheeling-and-dealing 1975 Warriors that won the title with Rick Barry and company. Parish came around a couple of years later to a franchise headed in the wrong direction.
It was so bad in those first four years that Parish, who ended up playing more than two decades in the NBA, considered retiring from basketball.
Instead, he hit the jackpot — the infamous trade that sent him to Boston. He joined a Celtics organization that was in the process of a rebuild, but it was far more organized, calculated and further along than what he was leaving with the Warriors. The Celtics went from champs in 1976 to one of the worst teams in the league from 1977 to 1979. Then the year before Parish and McHale showed up, the Celtics added Larry Bird and won 61 games, but the Philadelphia 76ers bounced them relatively easily in the conference finals (three tightly contested games turned into two double-digit wins by Philly to close it out in five games).
Robert Parish in 1981. He and the Celtics would go on to win an NBA title in ’81 and two more, in ’84 and ’86, in his 14 seasons with Boston. (NBAE via Getty Images)
The Celtics needed size. They needed interior depth. And they went out and made the trade for Parish and McHale.
We can’t pretend Parish came to Boston and that’s why they won the title in his first season. But he was a massive reason. He was the second-leading scorer (18.9 points per game) and rebounder (9.5 boards per game) on that team behind Bird. He helped the Celtics take out the Sixers after being down 3-1 in the conference finals before winning the series. He helped weather the wrath of Moses Malone in the NBA Finals as Boston took down the Houston Rockets in six games. All of a sudden, a dynasty was forming.
Over the first 10 seasons for Parish in Boston, he was named an All-Star eight times and All-NBA twice — during an era stacked with elite big men — and won three championships.
During that decade, do you know how many players averaged at least 17 points and 10 rebounds for 10 years?
Six players (minimum 400 games): Bird, Parish, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone.
Do you know how many players averaged 17 and 10 in that decade while also making at least 55 percent of their shots?
Two players: Parish and Barkley.
How many players achieved 17 and 10 and 55 percent from the field while also blocking at least 1.5 shots per game during this period?
Just The Chief.
Only Vinnie Johnson, Bill Laimbeer and Alex English played more games than Parish during that decade. He was a mainstay on the court, and one of the most consistent players you could imagine during the time. He was going to be a good defender, a reliable rebounder, someone to knock down a 12- to 15-foot jumper, score inside and dislodge shoulders with his screens.
From 1981 to 1987, Parish missed 14 games with the Celtics. They went 6-8 during that time. It’s not a large sample size to go off, but that’s because Parish rarely missed games. During that run with the Celtics, Parish was the second-leading scorer on the squad most seasons. Toward the end of the decade, he gave way to McHale in that department, as McHale was becoming the most ridiculous low-post scorer imaginable. Parish was either the leading rebounder or the second-leading rebounder most seasons for the Celtics.
Some might wonder if Parish’s case is simply a matter of sticking around, playing more games than everybody and compiling stats, but that’s not accurate. This isn’t an A.C. Green situation where he was ceremoniously starting to keep a streak going and then getting subbed out so the real action could commence.
Parish was contributing at an impressive rate. He had 17 straight seasons averaging double-digit points. During that time, he played more than 1,300 games and averaged 16.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per night while making 54.1 percent of his shots. Those numbers aren’t that far off from that decade-long sample mentioned above, only this happened from the age of 24 to 40, including one of his best seasons at age 35.
Only 23 players in NBA history have played at least 1,300 games in their careers.
Six of them have averaged at least 16 points per game in those first 17 years they played.
Four of those players (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Elvin Hayes and Parish) also grabbed 10 rebounds per game.
Only Abdul-Jabbar (56.2 percent) of those players shot a higher percentage from the field than Parish (54.2 percent).
This was the production he gave sacrificing himself and his statistics and honors, so the Celtics could be a dynasty during a major chunk of those 17 years. We’ve seen a bunch of players in basketball history end up sacrificing their glory for the good of the team. His teammate McHale was one of them. Manu Ginobili did it forever for the San Antonio Spurs during their extended run of success.
If it wasn’t Moses Malone or Patrick Ewing or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, it was another Hall of Fame center such as Hakeem Olajuwon whom Parish had to face in the ’80s. (Dick Raphael / NBAE via Getty Images)
For some reason with Parish, there is some notion that he benefited from it more than he contributed to it. The Celtics would not have been the team they were without him. And this is one of the most significant teams in NBA history. Those 1980s Celtics are considered to have played one of the greatest stretches of basketball ever seen. It was one of the franchises that helped save the NBA and catapult it into the billion-dollar industry we see today.
We’re not going to sit here and credit Parish with being the main component of them. That was obviously and unquestionably Bird, as he was one of the biggest stars of the league. But Parish was arguably the second-best player of that run. He endured longer than Dennis Johnson. He handled the first part of the decade and gave way to McHale to fill that role for the latter part of it. He’s a historically significant player during a historically significant stretch of basketball.
Maybe 40 or 45 is too high. I’m open to that conversation. But Parish more than proved he belongs on this list.
Parish ended his career with remarkable statistics. It’s hard to play 21 seasons and not do that. He’s currently 28th in scoring, eighth in rebounds, 10th in blocked shots, 40th in field-goal percentage, 18th in shots made, 28th in shots attempted, 18th in minutes played and first in games played. He made the Hall of Fame. He won four titles, and the fourth one, as a member of the Chicago Bulls, had him rarely contributing on the court. But he did keep that solemn, stoic look on his face as Michael Jordan tested him in practice one day.
Parish tells the story about how he messed up a play in practice, and Jordan got in his face about it. He told Jordan, “I’m not as enamored with you as these other guys. I’ve got some rings too.” When Jordan told him he was going to kick his ass, Parish took a step toward him and said, “No, you really aren’t.” Jordan never tried him again after that point.
Parish was there to do his job, and he did it. Just like he did in Boston. Just like he almost quit doing in Golden State. Yes, it’s the Celtics who possibly saved a career he felt didn’t have the joy it should have possessed in his first four seasons. But it’s Parish who helped save the Celtics with Bird and McHale and company time and time again.
I didn’t get Parish here. The other voter didn’t get Parish here. The Celtics didn’t get Parish here. He got himself here.
Career stats: G: 1,611, Pts.: 14.5, Reb.: 9.1, Ast.: 1.4, FG%: 53.7, FT%: 72.1 | Win Shares: 147.0 | PER: 19.2
The Athletic NBA 75 Panel points: 83 | Hollinger GOAT Points*: 84
Accolades: Nine-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, four NBA titles (’81, ’84, ’86, ’97); Hall of Fame (’03); NBA at 50 Team; NBA 75 Team
*A rating of a player’s accumulated accomplishments at the highest levels, based mostly on comparable historical factors, determined heavily but not completely by contemporary evaluations (i.e. awards and All-Star selections). Emphasis is given to the most outstanding achievements — MVP award shares, All-NBA teams, and production above and beyond what is typically an All-Star level.
Welcome to the NBA 75, The Athletic’s countdown of the 75 best players in NBA history, in honor of the league’s diamond anniversary. From Nov. 1 through Feb. 18, we’ll unveil a new player on the list every weekday except for Dec. 27-31, culminating with the man picked by a panel of The Athletic NBA staff members as the greatest of all time.
“You’re the reason Robert Parish made our top 75 list.”
Me?
“Yes, you ranked him so high (45) that it kept him on the list.”
Wait, what?
“You should write about him since your vote made the difference.”
That’s not entirely accurate. Another voter and I are both the reason “The Chief” made the list. We both had him in not only our top 75 but also in the 40s on our list — 45 for me, 40 for him.
But I am shocked Parish landed there (or was this low) because he is everything we preach about how to be in sports, how to be in basketball.
Don’t let anybody tell you anything about Parish other than that he was a bad man. Some people believe Parish’s career is propped up by the idea that he was on a brilliant Boston Celtics franchise. And to be fair, I think you need to account for that on some level. Certain organizations do carry more weight than others when it comes to how players are considered. Wait until you see how many of the Celtics from the 1950s and ’60s made the top 75 list because they happened to be on the team with the greatest winner in professional sports history, Bill Russell.
That’s not what happened with Parish on my list — or on the NBA’s official top 75 list.
Parish was a monster in the making (and put up big numbers at tiny Centenary — even if the NCAA didn’t acknowledge his existence). It’s why Red Auerbach traded for him and the third pick in the 1980 draft, which ended up being Kevin McHale, in one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history.
Despite a reputation for being lackadaisical in his first four seasons in the league for the Golden State Warriors, Parish was building toward putting up some good numbers — a solid defender with 15.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and a couple of blocks every night in his last three seasons with Golden State. However, the state of the Warriors was crushing his soul. He wasn’t on the wheeling-and-dealing 1975 Warriors that won the title with Rick Barry and company. Parish came around a couple of years later to a franchise headed in the wrong direction.
It was so bad in those first four years that Parish, who ended up playing more than two decades in the NBA, considered retiring from basketball.
Instead, he hit the jackpot — the infamous trade that sent him to Boston. He joined a Celtics organization that was in the process of a rebuild, but it was far more organized, calculated and further along than what he was leaving with the Warriors. The Celtics went from champs in 1976 to one of the worst teams in the league from 1977 to 1979. Then the year before Parish and McHale showed up, the Celtics added Larry Bird and won 61 games, but the Philadelphia 76ers bounced them relatively easily in the conference finals (three tightly contested games turned into two double-digit wins by Philly to close it out in five games).
Robert Parish in 1981. He and the Celtics would go on to win an NBA title in ’81 and two more, in ’84 and ’86, in his 14 seasons with Boston. (NBAE via Getty Images)
The Celtics needed size. They needed interior depth. And they went out and made the trade for Parish and McHale.
We can’t pretend Parish came to Boston and that’s why they won the title in his first season. But he was a massive reason. He was the second-leading scorer (18.9 points per game) and rebounder (9.5 boards per game) on that team behind Bird. He helped the Celtics take out the Sixers after being down 3-1 in the conference finals before winning the series. He helped weather the wrath of Moses Malone in the NBA Finals as Boston took down the Houston Rockets in six games. All of a sudden, a dynasty was forming.
Over the first 10 seasons for Parish in Boston, he was named an All-Star eight times and All-NBA twice — during an era stacked with elite big men — and won three championships.
During that decade, do you know how many players averaged at least 17 points and 10 rebounds for 10 years?
Six players (minimum 400 games): Bird, Parish, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone.
Do you know how many players averaged 17 and 10 in that decade while also making at least 55 percent of their shots?
Two players: Parish and Barkley.
How many players achieved 17 and 10 and 55 percent from the field while also blocking at least 1.5 shots per game during this period?
Just The Chief.
Only Vinnie Johnson, Bill Laimbeer and Alex English played more games than Parish during that decade. He was a mainstay on the court, and one of the most consistent players you could imagine during the time. He was going to be a good defender, a reliable rebounder, someone to knock down a 12- to 15-foot jumper, score inside and dislodge shoulders with his screens.
From 1981 to 1987, Parish missed 14 games with the Celtics. They went 6-8 during that time. It’s not a large sample size to go off, but that’s because Parish rarely missed games. During that run with the Celtics, Parish was the second-leading scorer on the squad most seasons. Toward the end of the decade, he gave way to McHale in that department, as McHale was becoming the most ridiculous low-post scorer imaginable. Parish was either the leading rebounder or the second-leading rebounder most seasons for the Celtics.
Some might wonder if Parish’s case is simply a matter of sticking around, playing more games than everybody and compiling stats, but that’s not accurate. This isn’t an A.C. Green situation where he was ceremoniously starting to keep a streak going and then getting subbed out so the real action could commence.
Parish was contributing at an impressive rate. He had 17 straight seasons averaging double-digit points. During that time, he played more than 1,300 games and averaged 16.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per night while making 54.1 percent of his shots. Those numbers aren’t that far off from that decade-long sample mentioned above, only this happened from the age of 24 to 40, including one of his best seasons at age 35.
Only 23 players in NBA history have played at least 1,300 games in their careers.
Six of them have averaged at least 16 points per game in those first 17 years they played.
Four of those players (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Elvin Hayes and Parish) also grabbed 10 rebounds per game.
Only Abdul-Jabbar (56.2 percent) of those players shot a higher percentage from the field than Parish (54.2 percent).
This was the production he gave sacrificing himself and his statistics and honors, so the Celtics could be a dynasty during a major chunk of those 17 years. We’ve seen a bunch of players in basketball history end up sacrificing their glory for the good of the team. His teammate McHale was one of them. Manu Ginobili did it forever for the San Antonio Spurs during their extended run of success.
If it wasn’t Moses Malone or Patrick Ewing or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, it was another Hall of Fame center such as Hakeem Olajuwon whom Parish had to face in the ’80s. (Dick Raphael / NBAE via Getty Images)
For some reason with Parish, there is some notion that he benefited from it more than he contributed to it. The Celtics would not have been the team they were without him. And this is one of the most significant teams in NBA history. Those 1980s Celtics are considered to have played one of the greatest stretches of basketball ever seen. It was one of the franchises that helped save the NBA and catapult it into the billion-dollar industry we see today.
We’re not going to sit here and credit Parish with being the main component of them. That was obviously and unquestionably Bird, as he was one of the biggest stars of the league. But Parish was arguably the second-best player of that run. He endured longer than Dennis Johnson. He handled the first part of the decade and gave way to McHale to fill that role for the latter part of it. He’s a historically significant player during a historically significant stretch of basketball.
Maybe 40 or 45 is too high. I’m open to that conversation. But Parish more than proved he belongs on this list.
Parish ended his career with remarkable statistics. It’s hard to play 21 seasons and not do that. He’s currently 28th in scoring, eighth in rebounds, 10th in blocked shots, 40th in field-goal percentage, 18th in shots made, 28th in shots attempted, 18th in minutes played and first in games played. He made the Hall of Fame. He won four titles, and the fourth one, as a member of the Chicago Bulls, had him rarely contributing on the court. But he did keep that solemn, stoic look on his face as Michael Jordan tested him in practice one day.
Parish tells the story about how he messed up a play in practice, and Jordan got in his face about it. He told Jordan, “I’m not as enamored with you as these other guys. I’ve got some rings too.” When Jordan told him he was going to kick his ass, Parish took a step toward him and said, “No, you really aren’t.” Jordan never tried him again after that point.
Parish was there to do his job, and he did it. Just like he did in Boston. Just like he almost quit doing in Golden State. Yes, it’s the Celtics who possibly saved a career he felt didn’t have the joy it should have possessed in his first four seasons. But it’s Parish who helped save the Celtics with Bird and McHale and company time and time again.
I didn’t get Parish here. The other voter didn’t get Parish here. The Celtics didn’t get Parish here. He got himself here.
Career stats: G: 1,611, Pts.: 14.5, Reb.: 9.1, Ast.: 1.4, FG%: 53.7, FT%: 72.1 | Win Shares: 147.0 | PER: 19.2
The Athletic NBA 75 Panel points: 83 | Hollinger GOAT Points*: 84
Accolades: Nine-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, four NBA titles (’81, ’84, ’86, ’97); Hall of Fame (’03); NBA at 50 Team; NBA 75 Team
*A rating of a player’s accumulated accomplishments at the highest levels, based mostly on comparable historical factors, determined heavily but not completely by contemporary evaluations (i.e. awards and All-Star selections). Emphasis is given to the most outstanding achievements — MVP award shares, All-NBA teams, and production above and beyond what is typically an All-Star level.
