92. Robert Parish
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The longest playing player in NBA history started his career with Rick Barry as a team mate, went through the 80s as a teammate of Larry Bird and finished as a teammate of Michael Jordan. Few players have had such a long lasting presence in the NBA and can be connected to as many legends as Robert Parish.
Parish went to the small college of Centenary. A college which has produced 3 other NBA players who played a total of 122 games in the NBA; Parrish played 1,611 games. Parish had a spectacular career at Centenary playing all 4 years of eligibility and averaging 22 points and 17 rebounds in 108 career games.
The Utah Stars drafted Parish in 1973, but he decided he’d rather stay at Centenary. He was drafted again in 1975 by the San Antonio Spurs, again Parish decided to remain in college. In 1976 he was drafted by the NBA champion Golden State Warriors and Parish decided to play there.
The Warriors run to the title the year before was a remarkable one in that the team was never considered to be a genuine threat to win the title and many at the time considered them to be on the decline. After the title the team really took a dip and Parish joined a team in flux.
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Parish’s rookie year was solid for the Warriors, 9 points and 7 rebounds as a sub. He got more playing time his second year and began to play better having his averages jump to 12 and 8. Parish really blossomed his third year when he put up 17 points and 12 rebounds.
After 4 years with the Warriors Parish was traded to the Boston Celtics in one of the most one-sided deals in NBA history. The Celtics got Parish and a draft pick which became Kevin McHale while the Warriors got two first round draft picks. One became Joe Barry Carroll who had a solid career in the NBA but had off the court issues which ruined his career. The other became Ricky Brown who lasted only six seasons in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics now had their front line set with Parish, McHale and Bird. This trio along with Dennis Johnson would be the back bone for the Celtics to win 3 NBA titles in the 1980s and set up one of the greatest rivalries in NBA history with the Showtime Lakers.
In his first year with the Celtics Parish made the all-star team. He would make 9 all-star appearances with the Boston Celtics from 1981 until 1991. In 1982 he averaged a career high 20 points a game. His scoring was never that high because of the weapons the Boston Celtics had at their disposal. He would however be one of the best rebounders in the NBA for most of his tenure with the Celtics.
Parish would play 14 seasons with the Boston Celtics from 1980 until 1994. He out lasted all the other Celtic greats of his time. Bird and McHale had retired, Reggie Lewis died leaving Parish as the only remaining member of one of the greatest teams in NBA history still playing. He would leave the now rebuilding Celtics in 1994 and join the Charlotte Hornets.
With the Hornets Parish seen his numbers drop to career lows as he was just a role player. He played two seasons with the Hornets before joining the Chicago Bulls for a season. He won another title with the Bulls in 1997 before retiring.
Parish’s numbers are nothing short of amazing. He is the third oldest player to ever play in an NBA game behind Providences Nat Hickey in 1946 and Dallas’s Kevin Willis in 2007. He played in an NBA record 1,611 NBA games and owns averages of 14 points and 9 rebounds.
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