Tag: Robert Parish

On this day: Celtic center Robert Parish scores 20k; Dirk Minniefield, Tyler Zeller born

On this day in Celtics history, Robert Parish scored his 20,000th career point and Tyler Zeller and Dirk Minniefield were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary big man Robert Parish scored the 20,000th point of his career with the storied franchise back in 1992. At the time of his considerable achievement, he became just the 16th player in NBA history to reach the lofty scoring plateau.

The iconic center was traded to the Celtics from the Golden State Warriors in 1980 after four seasons with Golden State in what is often considered one of the most lopsided trades in league history. Parish would win three titles with Boston in 1981, 1984 and 1986 as part of the so-called original Big Three of himself, small forward Larry Bird and power forward Kevin McHale.

Regarded as one of the greatest frontcourts ever assembled, Parish was the anchor that held it all together.

On this day: Parish scores 22,000th point; Sailors, Bloom born; Wedman trade

On this day, Robert Parish joined the 22,000-point club, a pair of future Celtics were born and the team traded for Scott Wedman.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame Celtics center Robert Parish scored the 22,000th point of his career in a game he played in 1994. An alum of Louisiana’s Centenary College, Parish was later drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the eighth overall pick of the 1976 NBA draft and would come to the Celtics in a famously lopsided trade in 1980.

He would play for Boston for 14 seasons, winning three of his four NBA titles with the Celtics while also garnering 9 All-Star bids, 2 All-NBA team selections, and a host of other honors.

The game in which he hit the 22,000-point plateau was a 21-point performance in a 102-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Parish becoming (at that time) only the twelfth person in league history to reach that mark.

On this day: Rick Pitino resigns as coach, president; Parish gets 13k boards

On this day in Celtics history, former coach and team president Rick Pitino resigned, and Robert Parish got his 13,000th career rebound.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics head coach and President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino resigned from his posts with the storied franchise back in 2001.

Having joined the Celtics organization in 1997 in his second stint in the NBA (he had previously been the head coach of the New York Knicks) after nearly winning a national title with the Kentucky Wildcats at the NCAA level, losing in overtime to Arizona. Things did not go so well with the Celtics however, with his impatience with the roster and resulting trades failing to produce a winning record during his tenure.

This would result in a 102-146 record during his tenure, as well as the famous “Larry Bird is not walking through that door” rant.

On this day: Red’s jersey retired; Parish 2000th block; Jefferson, Kreklow, Kleine born

On this day, iconic Celtic GM and coach Red Auerbach’s jersey was retired, Robert Parish made his 2000th career block, and Al Jefferson was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise retired legendary head coach and team president Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach’s jersey number in 1986.

Of course, Auerbach had given up the sport as a player long before becoming part of the Celtics organization, having played collegiately for George Washington University before the Second World War began. Rather, it was in recognition for building the NBA behemoth that won an unprecedented total of 16 titles in his lifetime as either head coach or general manager of the Celtics in a span of years stretching from 1957 all the way to 1986.

His career as an executive was and remains unparalleled in basketball and in professional sports more generally.

Kevin McHale on if he thought Michael Jordan’s Bulls could have beaten ’86 Celtics

“Does anyone honestly think those teams, even with Michael Jordan, could have beaten the 1985-86 champions?” asked McHale.

Younger fans of the NBA may not be aware of the fact that the “original Big Three” era of the Boston Celtics featuring Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale overlapped with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. But they might be more surprised by how unthreatened that Celtics triumvirate felt towards that early version of His Airness’ ball club.

“I give the Chicago Bulls a lot of credit for winning three straight NBA titles, but, come on, does anyone honestly think those teams, even with Michael Jordan, could have beaten the 1985-86 champions with Larry Bird, Robert Parish, myself, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, and Bill Walton?” McHale asked via Basketball Network’s Yakshpat Bhargava.

“Or the Los Angeles Laker champs of ’86-87 and ’87-88 with Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?”

“Or the Detroit Piston teams of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, which played great defense and won the ’88-89 and ’89-90 titles?” added McHale, driving the point home.

A young Jordan was very good indeed, averaging an absurd 43 points per game in his Bulls’ first postseason meeting with Boston in 1986. But basketball is a team sport, and the Celtics’ talent was simply overwhelming as McHale noted.

And young MJ would find out the hard way just how hard they were to beat in that series, Chicago getting swept in three games.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

Celtics legend Robert Parish on why he preferred playing for Boston over Bulls

“I think that’s where Michael crossed the line,” said Parish.

As one of the longest-playing players in the history of the NBA, legendary Boston Celtics big man Robert Parish has born witness to so much of the league’s history as it unfolded. He’s also — along with Sam Vincent — one of the few Celtics alumni who played with Michael Jordan on the Bulls during His Airness’ heyday.

On an episode of the CLNS Media “Cedric Maxwell” podcast, Parish shared how he preferred his days with Boston, however. “That’s one thing I always liked about us, the Celtics. We respected one another. We talked a lot of trash every day about each other, but there was always that respect. I can’t think of one teammate that did not respect one another. We always respected one another,” said Parish via Basketball Network’s Yakshpat Bharghava.

“I think that’s where Michael crossed the line,” added the Celtics center. He demanded perfection.”

“I felt like if you’re going to demand perfection, which is impossible to do by the way, you have got to give them some respect.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

Robert Parish on why he did not intervene in famous Larry Bird – Dr. J fight

“We all know Larry is legendary at trash-talking,” recounted Parish. “Oh, man, the trash-talking. Oh my goodness. I would’ve threw a punch if it was me.”

In the infamous fight between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984, an ubiquitous lack of backup of Celtics legend Larry Bird when he got into it a fight with Sixers star Julius “Dr. J” Irving by Boston teammate Robert Parish may have puzzled some fans.

Speaking in an interview with famed Celtics reporter Jackie MacMullan via Basketball Network’s Yakshpat Bhargava, Chief said that Larry legend deserved what came to him. “Larry earned that,” said Parish. “He earned it from his words. No question about it. And that’s one of the reasons why I didn’t do anything about it, even though Moses (Malone) was holding Larry back.”

“Because some things Jackie you just don’t say to the other person in the heat of the moment and I felt like Larry crossed the line,” he added. “And then when Moses did not throw a punch, that’s why I did not intervene.”

“We all know Larry is legendary at trash-talking,” recounted Parish. “Oh, man, the trash-talking. Oh my goodness. I would’ve threw a punch if it was me.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

On this day: Boston sees the Grateful Dead in concert; Shaw, Hunter debut

On this day, several Boston Celtics accompanied resident Deadhead and Celtics center Bill Walton to see the Grateful Dead in concert in 1985.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, several members of the storied franchise went to see the Grateful Dead in concert in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1985. Not all of the Celtics went, but after recent arrival Bill Walton had managed to pique the interest of a few of his teammates, a significant portion of the team decided to attend the concert.

A few days ahead of the planned concert, Hall of Fame teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale had noticed some hippie-ish looking people wearing funky clothes arriving in town and made the connection it must have something to do with their hippie-ish teammate.

Walton had himself previously met the band after sticking out like a sore thumb as a 7-footer at one of their concerts, catching the eye of drummer Mickey Hart, who called him on stage after learning who he was.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason free throws?

Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

In his historic, 50-point masterpiece against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of the 2021 Eastern Conference first-round series, All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics likely would not have won the game had the budding superstar not gotten to the line 15 times, converting 13.

But the St. Louis native had a long way to go to crack the franchise’s top ten in free throws made in the postseason given the long and storied history of the Celtics in the playoffs, making the list in 2023; you sink a lot of shots at the charity stripe when you win 17 banners, after all.

Who are the 10 most accomplished sinkers of free throws in the playoffs for Boston, then? Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

How many of the NBA’s official 50 greatest in 1996 were Boston Celtics?

In 1996, the NBA released a list of its 50 greatest players up to that year to celebrate as many years of play as a league. Can you guess how many were Celtics? Better yet, who they were?

In 1996, the NBA decided to assemble a panel of 50 players, media members, and team representatives in total to select the 50 greatest players of the league’s first 50 years on the anniversary of the NBA’s first season of 1946-47.

The league again plans to assemble a similar list to honor the 75th anniversary of its foundation in 2021, but before we begin to recount which alumni of the Boston Celtics were added to the list, let’s take a look at the old one. Dominated by names once populating the championship eras of the team from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, a total of 14 of the NBA’s 50 greatest players once donned the green and white.

Let’s review who made the cut, and when they were Celtics.