Happy 72nd Birthday, Robert Parish

Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics battles the Milwaukee Bucks’ Bob Lanier for position during a game at Boston Garden. Photo credit: Dick Raphael, Getty Images.

Cover photo: Boston Celtic center Robert Parish at the free-throw line during a game on February 13, 1987 against the Portland Trail Blazers. Photo credit: USAToday Sports, Presswire

An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on August 30 as Hall of Fame center Robert Parish turns 72. 

Born in Shreveport, La., Parish attended Woodlawn High School, where he won the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class AAAA state championship in 1972. 

Parish played four years at Shreveport’s Centenary College, where he averaged 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds per game. As a senior, he garnered 1st team All-America honors with averages of 24.8 points and 18.0 rebounds. 

In the 1976 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors drafted Parish with the eighth overall selection. 

The Warriors were coming off of 59 wins and had won the championship just one year earlier. Parish played just 18.0 minutes as a rookie and averaged 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The Warriors won 46 games and lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games in the second round. Parish posted six double-doubles in his first ever postseason, including 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in Game 2 of the first round against the Detroit Pistons and 17 points and 18 rebounds in Game 3. 

In Parish’s second season, his minutes per game increased to 24.0, shots to 11.1 from 7.4, and he averaged 12.5 points and 8.3 rebounds. 

For 1978-79 and 1979-80, Parish averaged 17.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks, and 17.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. 

In the 1979-80 season, the Boston Celtics won 61 games and made the Eastern Conference Finals. Larry Bird (21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists) was Rookie of the Year, fourth in MVP voting, and 1st team All-NBA. Dave Cowens, the Cs’ 8-time all-star center, retired after the season. That left Rick Robey, 24 years old, as the only other center on the roster. 

On June 9, 1980, Celtics’ president Red Auerbach dealt the rights to the top selection, Joe Barry Carroll, and the 13th overall draft choice (Rickey Brown) for Parish and the No. 3 selection. The Celtics now had their center of the future, and used the third overall pick to draft a power forward out of the University of Minnesota named Kevin McHale. Looking back, the trade is one of the best in league history. Bird-McHale-Parish won three championships together and is widely thought of as the best front court in the history of the NBA. The Big 3. 

From 1980-81 through to 1986-87, Parish made seven consecutive all-star games. In this time, the Celtics made five NBA Finals’ appearances and won three championships, in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Parish averaged a double-double in each season from 1981-82 to 1984-85.

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Robert Parish All-Star Seasons from ‘80-‘81 to ‘86-‘87

1980-81: 18.9 points, 54.5% FG (14.2 FGA), 9.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 28.0 minutes, 82 games, 7th in MVP voting 

The ‘81 Celtics won 62 games and defeated the Houston Rockets in six games in the ‘81 NBA Finals. Throughout the playoffs, Parish registered seven double-doubles, including 27 points (12-of-22 from the field) and 11 rebounds in Game 2 of the first round against the Chicago Bulls. 

1981-82: 19.9 points, 54.2% FG (15.4 FGA), 10.8 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 31.7 minutes, 78 starts in 80 games, 4th in MVP voting, 2nd team All-NBA

The ‘82 Celtics won 63 games and lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games to the Philadelphia 76ers. Parish recorded ten double-doubles in the ‘82 postseason. In games three, four, and five in the first round against the Washington Bullets, Parish posted 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks, 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks, and 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks. In Game 1 against the 76ers, he posted 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 blocks, and recorded 26 points and 10 rebounds in Game 5, and 23 points and 14 rebounds in Game 7. 

1982-83: 19.3 points, 55.0% FG (14.4 FGA), 10.6 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 31.5 minutes, 76 starts in 78 games

The ‘83 Celtics won 56 games and were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Parish posted double-doubles in four postseason games, including 18 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks in Game 1 of the first round against the Atlanta Hawks. 

1983-84: 19.0 points, 54.6% FG (14.3 FGA), 10.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 35.8 minutes, 79 starts in 80 games

The ‘84 Celtics won 62 games under new head coach K.C. Jones, and met the Lakers in the Finals for the first time during the decade. The Celtics won the series in seven games. In the playoff run, Parish posted twelve double-doubles. His best output came in Game 4 against the Lakers, with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in the Celtics’ 129-125 overtime win in Los Angeles. 

1984-85: 17.6 points, 54.2% FG (12.9 FGA), 10.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 36.1 minutes, 78 starts in 79 games 

The ‘85 Celtics won 63 games and lost their Finals’ rematch with the Lakers in six games. Parish posted twelve double-doubles in the postseason. His most prolific outing was 27 points and 16 rebounds in Game 1 of the second round against the Detroit Pistons. He also posted two games of 26 points - Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the 76ers (26 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Game 5 against the Lakers (26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks). 

1985-86: 16.1 points, 54.9% FG (11.9 FGA), 9.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 31.7 minutes, 80 starts in 81 games 

The Celtics of 1985-86 are widely regarded as one of the best teams of all time, maybe the best. The team finished with a 67-15 record (they lost just one home game all season) and with the addition of center Bill Walton became one of the best if not the best passing teams in league history. 

Parish posted 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks in Game 1 of the Cs’ first round series sweep of the Bulls, and scored 28 points with 12 rebounds in Game 3 of the Conference Finals against the Bucks. In Game 1 of the Finals against the Houston Rockets, Parish registered 23 points, and recorded 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in Game 4.

1986-87: 17.5 points, 55.6% FG (13.2 FGA), 10.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 37.4 minutes, 80 games 

The ‘87 Celtics won 57 games and lost to the Lakers in the Finals in six games. Parish tallied eleven double-doubles in the ‘87 playoffs. In a three-game stretch between Game 5 of the Celtics’ second round series against the Bucks and the Conference Finals against the Pistons, Parish had games of 30 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks, 23 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks, and in Game 1 against the Pistons put up 31 points and 9 rebounds. 

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Parish averaged 14.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in ‘87-‘88 and 18.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in ‘88-‘89. In ‘88, the Celtics lost in six games to the Pistons in the Conference Finals and in ‘89 lost in the first round to the Pistons under new head coach Jimmy Rogers. Parish made All-NBA 3rd team in ‘88-‘89 before returning to the All-Star Game for the final two times of his career in 1990 and 1991. He averaged 15.7 points and 10.1 rebounds in ‘89-‘90 and 14.9 points and 10.6 rebounds in ‘90-‘91. 

By this time, injuries had done their damage to Bird, who played six games in ‘88-‘89. Though he played in 75 contests in ‘89-‘90, Bird played 105 games over his final two seasons of ‘90-‘91 and ‘91-‘92 because of an ailing back. 

McHale, who played 77 games in ‘86-‘87 on a broken foot, played all 82 games in ‘89-‘90. He and Parish stuck with the Celtics beyond Bird, as McHale retired after the ‘92-‘93 season. 

Parish stayed with the franchise until the conclusion of the ‘93-‘94 season, the 17-year veteran, with McHale, crossing with new era guys like Dee Brown, Rick Fox, Reggie Lewis and Brian Shaw. 

In the ‘92 and ‘93 playoffs, Parish delivered some vintage performances, like 19 points and 14 rebounds and 23 points and 14 rebounds in games one and two of the ‘92 first round against the Indiana Pacers, 27 points and 8 rebounds in Game 2 of the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, 19 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2 of the ‘93 first round against the Charlotte Hornets, and 24 points and 9 rebounds in Game 4 of that series with the Hornets. 

The Celtics won 32 games in ‘93-‘94, and Parish after his 18th season, at age 40, signed a free agent deal with the Hornets. Parish played two seasons in Charlotte, 38 starts in 155 games. He spent the ‘96-‘97 season with the Bulls, starting three games out of 43. 

Parish’s 1,611 career NBA games are still a record, with the Lakers’ LeBron James 49 games behind him. In 2025-26, James will pass Vince Carter for the most seasons played (23), a mark that Parish held upon his ‘97 retirement. Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki since tied Parish’s mark of 21 seasons, a record that stood until Carter broke it. 

For his career, in 28.4 minutes per game, Parish averaged 14.5 points on 11.1 shots (53.7%) and 9.5 rebounds. He was malleable as a Celtic, starting 1,097 of 1,106 games, playing 80 or more games seven times. He played in all 82 games twice in his career, in ‘77-‘78 with the Warriors and in ‘80-‘81 with the Celtics. He also played in 81 games with the Hornets in ‘94-‘95 at age 41. In his Celtic career, The Chief averaged 16.5 points (55.2% shooting on 12.3 attempts), 10.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 31.6 minutes per game. For ten seasons in his career, he averaged at least 10 rebounds per game. On February 17, 1981 against the San Antonio Spurs, Parish posted his career-high in points, 40, on 15-of-23 shooting and 10-of-15 from the line in the Celtics’ 128-116 win.

Parish was the stoic inside presence for the Celtics in a decade where they along with the Lakers mostly ruled the league. His No. 00 was retired by the Celtics in 1998. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. 

Said Parish’s longtime front court mate McHale to fellow former Celtic Cedric Maxwell on the CLNS Media Boston Sports Network: 

“Robert had that damn pterodactyl shot. I started blocking that. I used to always say, 'I'm gonna get it today.' And I would jump. I never blocked his jumper ever. I played with the guy for 12 years. I never blocked his shot once."

Happy 72nd Birthday to The Chief.