Written By: Michael D. McClellan | His NBA journey begins during the US Bicentennial and ends 21 seasons later, during Bill Clinton’s second term as President. He arrives as disco is heating up, plays through the Michael Jackson-dominated ‘80s, and is still balling when Tupac is gunned down on the Vegas Strip in ‘96, winning a swansong championship during Michael Jordan’s Second Coming with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan might take time off to chill with Bugs Bunny and star in Space Jam, but it’s the quiet Louisianan who spaces out his own jams, a seven-foot wonder who runs the court for four teams over three decades of uninterrupted excellence.
All told, Robert Lee Parish plays fourteen of those twenty-one memorable seasons in a Celtic uniform. He arrives, along with rookie Kevin McHale, as part of Red Auerbach’s famous heist job on the Golden State Warriors, teaming with Larry Bird to lift Boston among the league’s elite. The move fuels the Celtics’ magical seven year run, a stretch that produces five trips to the NBA Finals, three NBA titles, and countless signature moments by Boston’s talented trio of big men. Nicknamed “Chief” by teammate Cedric Maxwell, Parish quietly suppresses his own considerable game for the overall good of the team. While Bird and McHale get most of the touches, he’s content to labor in the shadows of their out sized personas.
“Robert was special because he knew his place on the team,” says his former head coach, KC Jones. “He knew that there were only so many basketballs to go around. Robert embraced his role on the team, which was to rebound, play tough defense, and to be a force in the middle. This isn’t to say that Robert wasn’t a great offensive player; he could have put up big numbers on other teams. He just understood what was expected from him and he went out and did his job.”
Born in Shreveport, a teenage Robert Parish grows faster than Louisiana kudzu and begins a mesmerizing transformation. He enters the desegregated world of Woodlawn High School unsure of his basketball potential, but exits as the best player in school history. With Parish dominating in the paint, Woodlawn reaches the state finals two years running. As a senior, he leads Woodlawn to a state championship, capping his 1972 dream season by being named Louisiana’s Player of the Year. With nearly 400 scholarship offers to choose from, he decides to play his collegiate basketball at tiny Centenary College – a mere six miles away from home.
The decision is tested shortly after Parish commits, when Centenary is placed on probation for various rules violations. To make matters worse, the school is banned from tournament play the entire four years he’s at the school. With all of its basketball players free to transfer elsewhere, he decides to remain in Shreveport.
Parish stands out on the campus of this predominantly white, Methodist school in more ways than one, but because Centenary is a small independent with no conference tie-ins, he quickly disappears from the nation’s basketball landscape. There is no social media in 1972. The school’s games aren’t on TV. Parish toils in relative anonymity, quietly averaging 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds during his collegiate career, leading the nation in rebounding twice, and being named to The Sporting News All-America first team as a senior.
Despite the low profile, the Golden State Warriors select Parish with the 8th overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. Stoic and dignified, the rookie joins a veteran team fresh off a championship in ‘75. He averages 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds as a rookie, impressive numbers for a young center logging just under 18 minutes-per-game.
The honeymoon is short-lived; Golden State’s win totals decline each season, bottoming out with a 24-58 record in 1979-80. Players like Rick Barry are kept past their primes and young talent like Jamaal Wilkes and Gus Williams are traded before reaching their full potential. Parish continues to improve – he becomes a starter, and by his third season is averaging 17.2 points and 12.1 rebounds – but the losing trumps anything Parish does on the court.
The Celtics possess the top pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, two spots ahead of Golden State. Auerbach offers to trade picks with Warriors, on the condition that Parish is included as part of the trade. Parish, now in a Celtics uniform, responds by averaging 18.9 points and 9.5 rebounds, earning his first All-Star Game appearance. The Celtics roll to a 62-20 record and a date with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals. In an historic series, the Sixers – led by the incomparable Julius Erving – forge a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 series lead. Yet the Celtics are able to fight their way back, winning three consecutive nail biters to advance. The Celtics then defeat the Houston Rockets in the 1981 NBA Finals, 4-2, winning the team’s 14th championship.
Parish continues to blossom. He registers 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the ‘82 All-Star Game, and earns a spot on the All-NBA Second Team, but a Game 7 loss to the Sixers in the ‘82 Eastern Conference Finals, followed by a four-game sweep by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1983 playoffs, leaves a bitter taste. With the team regressing, Auerbach responds with two shrewd moves: He names KC Jones as the team’s head coach, and trades for defensive stopper Dennis Johnson. The Celtics respond, winning the 1984 NBA Championship in a classic seven game thriller.
Los Angeles exorcises its demons a year later, beating the Celtics in six games. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, especially for a Boston team storms to a 63-19 regular season record, tops in the league. Parish averages 17.6 points and 10.6 rebounds, but finds himself drained from playing heavy minutes. Help arrives when Auerbach swings a major deal during the off-season, trading away the popular Maxwell for Bill Walton, a former superstar center with a history of foot problems.
It’s a risky move that pays off handsomely; the Celtics go 67-15 and beat the Rockets in the 1986 NBA Finals. The ‘86 title is the high point for Parish and the Celtics. A slow descent follows the tragic death of Len Bias, who succumbs to a cocaine overdose just two days after the 1986 NBA Draft.
Parish averages 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds in his 11th season, which includes his lone career triple-double, recorded on March 29 against the Philadelphia 76ers. He hobbles through much of the 1987 NBA Playoffs, missing a second-round game against Milwaukee and repeatedly willing himself up the court against the young, hungry Detroit Pistons. That series remains best-known for Bird’s last-second steal of Isiah Thomas’ inbounds pass, but few can forget the sight of a courageous Robert Parish limping into battle.
By the 1990s, Boston is a solid playoff team, but the new decade is a dark time for a team with such a storied past. Bird’s back is so bad that he often lays prone on the floor when not in the game. McHale, who guts out the ‘87 playoffs on a broken foot, becomes a shell of his former self. Both are in retirement by 1993, the same year that Reggie Lewis dies while shooting baskets at Brandeis College.
Through it all, Parish remains a significant and viable piece of the Celtics’ rebuilding process. At age 40, he averages 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds, and logs 51 minutes in a 104-94 overtime Celtics win over the defending champion Bulls. He is the team’s elder statesman, the last link to its championship past, his tenure exceed only by the man who traded for him all those ago.
Parish’s next two seasons are spent as a reserve with the Charlotte Hornets, where he becomes the NBA’s all-time leader in games played, passing Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 1,560 on April 6, 1996 in a game at Cleveland.
On October 29th, 1996 – more than twenty years after Parish takes the court as a Golden State rookie, and less than two months after Tupac is gunned down on the Vegas Strip – the player known as “Chief” is recognized by the league as one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest. He spends that final season in Chicago, winning a fourth NBA championship and walking away with an armful of records, among them: Most seasons played all-time (21); most games played all-time (1,611); most offensive rebounds in the NBA Playoffs (571); and most defensive rebounds all-time (10,117).
The records are impressive, but Parish doesn’t spend much time reliving them. Still, he doesn’t waste an opportunity to let that wicked sense of humor shine.
“With Larry and Kevin around, I didn’t get much credit for my offensive skills – but that’s because they took all of the shots,” he says, laughing heartily. “Be sure to let them know I said that.”
You were born on October 30, 1953, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Take me back to your childhood.
We were a close-knit, happy family, and this closeness was fostered mainly by my mother. She was a religious woman. She taught us the fundamental beliefs from the bible. She taught us the importance of faith and religion, and also the importance of being respectful. We learned courtesy at a very early age. My parents worked hard to provide for us – there were four children, and I was the oldest, with one brother and two sisters – and they always stressed the value of a good work ethic. They also wanted us to get an education. They knew how important a degree would be when it came time to find work. A degree meant the difference between a career and a life of hard work.
You credit your junior high school coach, Coleman Kidd, with spurring your interest in basketball. Please tell me about Mr. Kidd.
Coleman Kidd deserves all the credit for the things that led up to me playing basketball. I had never played basketball until I was in junior high school. He was persistent; he saw the potential in me, even when I didn’t see it myself, and he kept after me to pick up a ball and play competitively. I showed very little interest initially, but he stayed with me, kept encouraging me, and kept me positive – even though I wasn’t showing a desire to play the game of basketball. So if I had to pick one factor that left me to the basketball court, it would have to be Coleman Kidd. If it weren’t for him, I would have been just another tall kid walking around the streets of Shreveport [laughs].
You led Woodlawn to the state finals two straight years, winning a state championship along the way. In 1972, you were named Louisiana’s Player of the Year. Why did you choose tiny Centenary College?
It’s very interesting, because I never dreamed that I would be the player that I was at that particular time. Like I said earlier, I didn’t show promise initially. The process was a lot easier on me because of my parents. The gathered all of the information together, made a list of the pros and cons of each college, and helped me to make a sound decision about where I wanted to go. The reason I went to a small college – Centenary College – is because I didn’t want to be compared to other greats that had played before me. If I had gone to UCLA, for example, I would have faced constant comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If I had chosen Kansas, I would have played in the shadow of Wilt Chamberlain. So one of the big reasons I chose Centenary was because I wanted to carve out my own identity, and not get caught up in that comparison thing. Also, I liked the coaches at that time – Larry Little and Rodney Wallace. They put a lot of emphasis on education first, and athletics second – and not the other way around. That impressed me a great deal, but it really impressed my parents. It was important for them to hear that education was the number one priority, because I was the first one in my family to get a college education.
Centenary was placed on probation for various rules violations, where it would remain during your entire four years at the school. With all basketball players free to transfer elsewhere, why did you decide to stay in Shreveport?
There were several factors. One, I was a father in college. I wanted my child to be close to family, and the college was very close to home. Two, it was group decision made by those of us who had the opportunity to leave. There were six or seven of us that could have transferred. We all decided to stay, so it was a group decision to stay on at Centenary College.
You averaged 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds in college, and were named to The Sporting News All-America First Team as a senior. Did you think your skills would translate at the NBA level?
I had great confidence in myself, and I knew that I could compete. It was just a matter of getting the opportunity and making the most of it.
The Golden State Warriors selected you with the 8th overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft.
It was an exciting time time for me. It was also a learning experience. I was fortunate to have a mentor in Clifford Ray, who took me under his wings and taught me all about being a professional athlete. He stressed the importance of things like work ethic, nutrition, and fitness – both mentally and physically. That really made a big difference in me, because the only thing I had to do was concentrate on basketball.
Please tell me a little about your four seasons as a Warrior.
The team was going through a transition. Golden State has won the championship in ’75, sweeping the Washington Bullets, and that team had been led by Rick Barry. They reached the Western Conference Finals the next season. Then they drafted me, and we were beat by the Lakers in the ’77 Western Conference Semifinals. The next three seasons we failed to make the playoffs, and there were a lot of disgruntled people – the fans, management, and players included. It wasn’t the best of times to be a Warrior. I considered cutting my career short before the trade because I was being blamed for the Warriors’ demise. I understood that I was the team’s top pick, and that a lot of pressure comes along with that. But basketball isn’t an individual sport. I just felt like the Warriors at that time were an assembly of misfit pieces. Guys were thinking about their own agendas as opposed to that of the team.
What was it like finding out that you’d been traded from Golden State to Boston?
It was like going from the outhouse to the penthouse in one phone call [laughs]. I’d taken a lot of the blame for the Warriors’ problems, but there was plenty of blame to go around. When I found out I’d been traded, I poured myself a stiff drink and celebrated.
Sounds like you were happy with the change in scenery.
The trade gave me incentive, and I was motivated to play basketball again because I was finally surrounded by the talent that I played with in college. I mean that in relative terms, of course. In other words, in college we had a front line that was very dominant at that level, and we played very well together. Everyone understood their role, and they went out and did their job. It was the same with the three of us in Boston. We all understood what our roles were going to be, and we understood this from a very early point in time. There was no jealousy. We fit together very well, and complimented each other perfectly.
What was that first Celtics training camp like?
The first day of training camp was very intense, very focused. There was complete dedication on the part of everyone. It was like a playoff-type atmosphere in terms of intensity. All of the practices, in fact, felt like playoff-type games. Just from seeing that, and being exposed to that, I knew very quickly that we could be very special.
How long did it take for you to realize that the Big Three of Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Larry Bird was destined for greatness?
Initially, I didn’t realize that myself, Larry and Kevin was going to turn out to be such a respected front line. It didn’t really sink in until after Dave Cowens retired. I had all intentions of going into it as being a backup to Dave. I had no idea that Dave was going to step down so abruptly. And then, once we started playing together on a consistent basis, I realized that we had the capacity to be something special.
Cedric Maxwell nicknamed you “Chief.”
Cedric nicknamed me Chief because when I came to Boston I was always talking about this movie, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. I’m a big fan of Jack Nicholson, and I finally convinced Cedric to see the movie. He said that I had similar characteristics to Chief Bromden – mainly because Chief had ‘em all fooled. He couldn’t talk – he was a mute – and then it turns out that there wasn’t anything wrong with the Chief. He was just there, in that insane asylum, relaxing and taking it easy. And because I was so quiet, I think I had a lot of people fooled. So that’s how I came about that nickname. Oh, and I have a wicked sense of humor [laughs]. Only people who are in my inner circle know that, though.
The Celtics and the 76ers waged some great battles in the early 80s, none better than the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals. Down 3-1, you were able to win three consecutive games and reach the Finals against Houston. What was the key to your comeback?
I would have to credit our coach at the time, Bill Fitch, for us staying determined and focused, and for us not giving up. He instilled a physical toughness in us, but he also instilled a mental toughness that helped carry us even when things looked to be hopeless. Even though we were down 3-1, he never let us doubt ourselves. He always preached that we could come back and win the series. He said that it’s not over until it’s over. And that attitude really started from the first day of training camp. I think that was one of the big reasons we were able to prevail in that series.
Bill Fitch was the perfect coach for us at the time. We were young, and he had a lifetime of coaching experience to share with us. He was a great Xs and Os coach, as well as a great tactician. He really understood the game. And as I’ve said, he instilled a great sense of belief in ourselves. We had the physical tools to succeed at the NBA level, but he helped give us the mental toughness that can help carry us through all types of adversity. He also taught us structure and discipline. He helped us to stay focused. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Bill Fitch.
What was it like beating Houston to win the ’81 NBA Championship?
Greatest feeling in the world. For it to all come together so quickly in Boston was something special.
Your Celtics came up short in the two seasons following that championship. Getting swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the ’83 NBA Playoffs may have been the low point. What did the acquisition of Dennis Johnson mean in terms of winning another title?
He fortified our defensive presence, for one thing. Also, he gave us another point guard after Tiny Archibald retired. People don’t realize just how talented Dennis Johnson was, because he made the transition from off guard to point guard appear so seamless. That’s a hell of a transition, I think, and he did it comfortably. Dennis was just exactly what we needed at that time to solidify our backcourt. He gave us the defensive presence that we needed back there, and he complimented our front-court players.
Bill Fitch was fired, and replaced by KC Jones. Please tell me a little about KC.
I’ve always felt like KC was one of the better coaches in the league. Personally, I would rank him among the top coaches ever in the NBA, because of his uncanny ability to relate to his players. KC knew his Xs and Os, don’t get me wrong, but the way that he understood his players was the thing that really set him apart. He was like Red Auerbach in that respect. The one thing that I always admired about KC – and there a lot of things to admire – was his ability to make that eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth guy on the team feel like his role and his input was just as important as one through six or seven. I think that was one of the reasons why we were so successful. He made everyone feel important, no matter how big or how small their role was with the Boston Celtics. Two other coaches come to mind who were like that – Phil Jackson and Chuck Daly. They were very similar in that regard, and I think that is what made each of those coaches so successful. In the NBA, it’s so important to understand the personalities of the players, and how to get the best out of them. It takes a special talent to do that, and those three guys all had that ability.
KC speaks very highly of you.
KC always appreciated they sacrifices that I made on the offensive end. There were only so many balls to go around, which meant that someone had to make some adjustments to make it all work. I’m a low-key guy who doesn’t need the limelight, and for me it was never about putting up stats. With Larry and Kevin playing at such high levels, I didn’t get much credit for my offensive skills – that’s because they shot all the balls [laughs]. I don’t mean that in a negative way – I can’t complain about the formula, because it certainly worked. We were very successful.
Who is the best player you’ve ever gone up against, and why?
Kareem is the best player I ever played against, period. The best thing I could ever say about Kareem, is that no one ever devised a defense that could stop him. He figured out a way to exploit every defensive scheme ever thrown at him. He was so smart and so intelligent, and such an extremely gifted athlete. I couldn’t change his shot; Kareem was the only player that I ever played against like that. I think the reason Kareem was so effective with the hook shot was that he was able to shoot it the same way every time. It was automatic. Wilt Chamberlain was the only player that I saw who could make Kareem alter his hook shot. He’s the only one. Other than that, Kareem was able to shoot it the same way time after time. That’s the way he was able to become so proficient. Nobody ever got close to that shot, except for Wilt Chamberlain.
The 1984 NBA Finals remains one of the most-watched of all-time. Take me back.
That series against the Lakers was a war. Every game was a battle. Every possession was a battle. You had Michael Cooper guarding Larry. Cooper was one of the few players alive who could guard Larry and consistently cause him problems. He would blanket Larry and make it hard for him to take that quick first step to the basket. He would contest every jump shot. Larry would still put up great numbers, but he had to work much harder at it with Cooper guarding him. I remember Gerald Henderson stealing the ball to save us in Game 2. If he hadn’t come up with that steal, we would have gone to Los Angeles in an 0-2 hole. It was big. I remember getting blown out in Game 3 – we were embarrassed. Magic [Johnson] and James Worthy just killed us in that game – we were behind from the opening tip, and we couldn’t do anything to turn it around. That’s when Larry took his frustrations public. He challenged the team in the paper, and it motivated everyone to play harder. That next game was one of the most physical that I’ve ever played in – Kevin gave Kurt Rambis that clothesline, and Larry was going jaw-to-jaw with Kareem. Nobody backed down. We won that game, and then two of the next three to win the championship. Dennis played great defense on Magic the whole series, but he was especially good against him in those last three games. It was a classic series, and one that I’m glad we were able to win.
The Celtics won it all again in 1986. Where does this team rank among the all-time greats?
In my opinion, I would have to say that it was in the top five teams of all-time.
Bill Walton’s play pushed that team to another level. Tell me about Bill.
What Bill brought to the Celtics was his toughness. He brought his knowledge of what it takes to win it all, because he was a huge part of that championship team in Portland. He was a former All-Star, a former NBA Most Valuable Player, and one of the best passing big men of all-time. And what made him so special that year was his humility. He had been one of the league’s greatest players, and yet he was willing to come off the bench and provide the punch that we needed. He set a great example for that second unit. He was willing to put his ego aside for the good of the team. Forget about basketball; how many athletes of his stature would be willing to take a lesser role for the overall good of the team?
I remember when the Celtics traded for Bill. We had to give up Cedric Maxwell, a good friend and a very good player, and suddenly we have another quality center on the team. Bill didn’t hesitate to call me as soon as the trade was announced. He wanted me to know that I was still the starting center, and that he wasn’t coming to Boston to take my job. He said that he was coming to help. It was a class move on his part, making that call. He didn’t have to do that, either – that was something that he did on his own. He was not asked to call me, or encouraged to call me. That was something that he wanted to do, out of respect for me. And I’ll never forget that. And Bill was always a player that I respected and admired from afar, because I always liked the way he played the game on both ends of the floor. And that’s how I prided myself – I wanted to be consistent on both ends, and not just be a one-dimensional player. And that’s the same way that Bill Walton played the game. He excelled on both ends, and he was probably the best passing big man that I’d ever seen.
Where were you when you heard the news that Len Bias had died? And what effect did it have on the future of the Boston Celtics?
Riding down the highway. Actually I was going down the Mass Pike [Massachusetts Turnpike] and I heard it on the radio. I thought it was the station’s way of telling some sort of cruel joke. I didn’t want to believe it. I had to think twice about what I’d just heard. I was like, “Man, they’ve got a weird sense of humor.” That’s what I said to myself, because it wasn’t funny at all. And then it turned out to be true. It broke my heart.
Bias’ death hurt the team in a big way, because he was going to be the next big star. The heir apparent to Larry Bird. But let’s not forget about Reggie Lewis. Think how good the Celtics would have been with those two players. They were going to be the future cornerstones of the Boston Celtics. In my opinion, we would have won at least – at least – one more championship if we had both Reggie Lewis and Len Bias.
The Celtics and Pistons waged war on the hardwood. What stands out in your mind about those physical games with Detroit’s Bad Boys?
The intensity. The competitiveness. The adjustments made by both coaching staffs. I thought it was two great teams battling one another – one of them was on the decline, and the other team was on its way up. It was a classic rivalry – I liken it to the Celtics’ rivalry between teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers. That’s how intense it was. It was a war. I respect those guys and what they accomplished, and how competitive they were. They were finally able to get by the Celtics and win a couple of championships of their own. Whether or not you liked the Detroit Pistons, you had to respect them for the way they played the game.
Everyone, it seems, has a favorite Red Auerbach story. Do you have one that stands out?
One thing I always respected about Red was his honesty. He was always honest. If Red told you something, you could believe him. He never lied. He was never full of pretense. Red was all about the business of winning championships. Which brings me to another thing I admired and respected about Red; whatever we needed, Red always seemed able to find that one particular player to put us back on top. When we needed someone to put the clamps on Magic Johnson, Red went out and traded for Dennis. We won the championship that next season. When we needed someone to provide a spark off of the bench, Red traded for Bill Walton. We won the championship that next season. He could always find that player to make us a better team, and I respected him greatly for that.
That’s the thing I respected about the Lakers, too. They would always go out and get what they needed, whether it was a coach or a player. I liked that about L.A. Hopefully the Celtics will get it back. They’re definitely headed in the right direction, that’s for sure.
Of your time spent with the Boston Celtics, do you have a fond memory or an amusing story that stands out most?
Yes. This has something to do with Johnny Most, our radio announcer. I don’t know if you know this or not, but Johnny was a chain smoker. I can’t remember for sure, but it was either Danny Ainge or Kevin McHale who replaced some of Johnny’s cigarettes with some of those party poppers. Those are cigarettes that explode when you light the tip. So, they replaced about five or six of Johnny’s cigarettes. He would light one after another and they would explode. Well, after about the third one he caught on that someone had tampered with his cigarettes. He got so mad! He went on this swearing rampage – he broke out swear words I’d never heard of before [laughs]. Talk about a colorful delivery! It was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen in my life.
One time, Johnny fell asleep and somebody tied his shoelaces together. He got up to go to the bathroom and stumbled. I think KC caught him – he didn’t hit the floor – and he went on another one of those swearing tirades. We couldn’t stop laughing, and the harder we laughed the madder he got. Johnny Most had that distinctive voice, and as he got madder his voice got higher. It was unbelievable [laughs].
Final Question: If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that be?
Believe in yourself, no matter what. If you believe in yourself, and have confidence in yourself, then you can accomplish anything.