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Robert Parish
The Chief
Robert Parish got his nickname "Chief" from teammate Cedric Maxwell. The nickname was inspired by the character Chief Bromden from the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Robert Parish 00
Golden State took Robert Parish with the eighth pick in the 1976 draft out of Centenary College...boy has he been around the game for a long time. In fact, he's played longer than anyone else in NBA history, holding the record for seasons played (21) and games played with 1611. The Sporting News named him a First Team All-American in 1975-76 as a senior when he averaged almost 25 points and 18 rebounds. Although his Warriors went to the Western Conference Semi-Finals in his rookie season, it wasn't until he played with the Celts that he started to truly experience winning ways. After 3 more seasons in Oakland, (his team had a losing record and failed to make the playoffs in all of them) he was eventually traded along with a first round pick to the Celtics on June 9, 1980 for two 1980 first round draft picks. In his first season in Beantown, Parish succeeded the freshly retired Dave Cowens in the post and battled Moses Malone in the NBA finals to win his first title in 1981. With the Celtics he won 3 NBA championships altogether in 5 trips to the finals alongside Larry Bird , Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson in 1981, 1984 and 1986. Their last appearance was in 1987 when they lost to the Magic led Lakers, whom they also lost to in 1985. The Celtics went to four consecutive NBA Finals from 1984-1987. He heads the Celtics all-time list in one category, blocked shots, with 1,703 and is third in points (18,246) and second in rebounds (11,051)
Cedric Maxwell nicknamed him "The Chief" surprisingly after the character in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"...I bet he could pull out that water fountain and throw it through a window, too. I wonder if "The Chief" ever tried to smother Cedric with a pillow, though. He is a 9 time all-star, including seven consecutive from 1981-1987. His other 2 appearances came in 1990 and 1991. Robert never made All-NBA First Team, although he finished second to Larry Bird in MVP voting for the 1981-82 season, his second in Beantown, he was once named to the All-NBA Second Team (1982) and once to the All-NBA Third Team (1989). Perhaps more impressive is his selection to the NBA's All-Time 50 Greatest Players Team. Robert is the all-time NBA leader in defensive rebounds with 10,117. Parish ranks in the top ten in NBA history in rebounds (sixth with 14,715), blocked shots (sixth with 2,361), FGs made (eighth with 9,614) and minutes played. Opposing teams are very familiar with what it means to challenge "00". Robert's game best in points came against SA on 2/17/81 when he scored 40. He pulled down a career high 32 rebounds against New York on 3/30/79.
Parish was signed by the Charlotte Hornets as a free agent in 1994, bailing out of Beantown after the retirement of his superstar teammates, Bird and McHale, not wanting to suffer through the rebuilding process. Robert added a fourth NBA title, after signing with the Chicago Bulls for the 1996-97 season for one more go around. He retired following the 1996-97 season after playing a record 21 seasons in the NBA, 14 for the Celtics. On January 18, 1998, the Celtics retired the Chier's "00" during the halftime of the Boston-Indiana game. The game also marked Bird's homecoming to Boston, for the first time as the Pacer's coach. Kevin McHale and Red Auerbach also attended the cermeony. He was born on 8/30/53, making him 43 years old when he retired. When not playing basketball, Robert stays mentally and physically fit practicing the martial art t'ai c'hi.
Regular Season
PPG RPG APG BlkPG
College
|
21.6
|
16.9
|
|
|
Rookie
|
9.1
|
7.1
|
1.0
|
1.2
|
1977-78
|
12.5
|
8.3
|
1.2
|
1.5
|
1978-79
|
17.2
|
12.1
|
1.5
|
2.9
|
1979-80
|
17.0
|
10.9
|
1.7
|
1.6
|
1980-81
|
18.9
|
9.5
|
1.8
|
2.6
|
1981-82
|
19.9
|
10.8
|
1.8
|
2.4
|
1982-83
|
19.3
|
10.6
|
1.8
|
1.9
|
1983-84
|
19.0
|
10.7
|
1.7
|
1.5
|
1984-85
|
17.6
|
10.6
|
1.6
|
1.3
|
1985-86
|
16.1
|
9.5
|
1.8
|
1.4
|
1986-87
|
17.5
|
10.6
|
2.2
|
1.8
|
1987-88
|
14.3
|
8.5
|
1.6
|
1.1
|
1988-89
|
18.6
|
12.4
|
2.2
|
1.5
|
1989-90
|
15.7
|
10.1
|
1.3
|
0.9
|
1990-91
|
14.9
|
10.6
|
0.8
|
1.3
|
1991-92
|
14.1
|
8.9
|
0.9
|
1.2
|
1992-93
|
12.6
|
9.4
|
0.8
|
1.4
|
1993-94
|
11.7
|
7.3
|
1.1
|
1.3
|
1994-95
|
4.8
|
4.3
|
0.5
|
0.4
|
1995-96
|
3.9
|
4.1
|
0.4
|
0.7
|
1996-97
|
3.7
|
2.1
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
Career
|
14.5
|
9.1
|
1.4
|
1.5
|
Playoffs
|
15.3
|
9.6
|
1.3
|
1.7
|