The Chief Robert Parish made a rare public appearance at Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement dinner, where he said The Truth was the best offensive player in Boston Celtics history.
Larry Bird has long held a place in history as perhaps the most brilliant offensive player in the history of the NBA. But his former teammate Robert Parish thinks that Paul Pierce was actually the greatest offensive player in Celtics history.
“In my opinion, I think he was the greatest offensive Celtic ever, in my opinion,” Parish said at Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement dinner Saturday.
“I just think that Paul was more creative. He was a better scorer than Larry and John Havlicek. I think that Larry and John Havlicek and Paul were the best offensive players that the Celtics ever had. I think Paul tops that list in my opinion.”
Robert Parish explains why he thinks Paul Pierce was a better offensive player than Larry Bird. pic.twitter.com/YFnLQZl4o1
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) February 10, 2018
It’s a statement that will turn some heads, but comes from a unique viewpoint with Parish being a part of the original Big Three with Bird and Kevin McHale. The Chief spent 12 seasons with Bird and watched his three MVP campaigns up close.
Parish had a great admiration for how Pierce was able to put his ego and spotlight to the side to join forces with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, forming the second generation of the Big Three in Boston that would go on to win the 2008 NBA Finals in their first season together.
“You have got to respect and admire him because superstars rarely put their egos aside for the team,” Parish said. “Paul embraced Allen and Garnett, which says a lot for him to share the spotlight with other superstars. That shows the type of person that Paul is and the respect and admiration that everyone has for him, because I think he is a genuinely nice person.”
Pierce ended up finishing second in career points for the Celtics at 24,021, trailing only Havlicek’s 26,395. Bird finished third with 21,791 and Parish finished fourth with 18,245.
There has been a general acceptance of the argument that Pierce may be the most unstoppable scorer in the history of the franchise. Claiming he was the best offensive player to ever don the green is quite the surprise, especially coming from Bird’s partner in crime.
But Pierce’s legacy as a transformative scorer in Boston will live on forever when his number 34 ascends to the rafters.
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