In 1996, Robert Parish surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 1.560 games played. Parish holds the current record for most NBA games played with 1,611 games under his belt. Nicknamed The Chief, Parish began his professional career as a captain of Team USA at the 1975 Pan American Games, where they won gold. In 1976, Parish signed with the Golden State Warriors and averaged 3.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in the 203 games he played with the Warriors. Parish then played for the Boston Celtics where he remained for 14 years. Parish, Larry Bird, and Kevin McHale, called “The Big Three,” were the basis of the Celtics’ impressive front court and led ht team to three NBA titles (1981, 1984 and 1986). During his 1,106 games with the Celtics, Parish averaged a double-double of 16.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, shooting 55.2% from the floor. Parish ended his NBA career in 1997 as the third-oldest player in the NBA (at age 43) and ht coldest player to win an NBA championship. He also holds NBA records for total career defensive rebounds (10,117) and most offensive rebounds in the playoffs. Parish was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Today in Sports History: April 6
