So yesterday morning I’m sipping coffee wondering which NBA legend’s peak performance to dig into. Celtics legend Robert Parish popped into my head – always seemed underrated compared to Larry Bird and McHale. Grabbed my laptop and fired up the search: “Robert Parish best Celtics season.” Instant problem though. Stats from the 80s? Man, finding clean numbers felt like trying to track down Bigfoot.
Started pounding the books – well, basketball-reference mostly. Pages after pages of numbers making my eyes cross. Remembered hearing about his ’81-’82 season being insane. So I scribbled notes old school with pencil and paper:
- Played ALL 82 regular season games… plus every playoff game.
- Chewed up nearly 39 minutes a night like it was nothing – dude was made of steel.
- Averaged over 19 points, hauling down almost 11 boards nightly. Just constant double-doubles.
- Shot a monster 54% from the field. In the paint? Automatic money.
Then came the playoff run. His numbers actually jumped. Facing elite centers nightly? Philly’s Moses Malone? Bucks? He dunked on ’em all. Finals against the Rockets? Parish bullied them down low.
Why Modern Fans Don’t Get It
That’s when it hit me hard. Kids today look at stats and think “only 19 and 11? Meh.” They got zero clue. Parish wasn’t chasing stats like today’s guys. He was setting killer screens so Bird could shoot wide-open daggers. Defending the entire paint without racking up fouls. Carrying that load every damn night while the other guys got to rest? No load management back then. Teams woulda laughed you outta the gym.
This guy anchored a defense that had to deal with no illegal defense rules! Help defense was practically cheating back then. Centers lived on their own personal island.
The Real Takeaway (and It Bothers Me)
His greatness? Impossible to stuff into a spreadsheet. Watching old clips – the way he moved? Smooth like oil, never rushed, always in control. Perfect screens freed Bird for shots fans remember now. He took pressure off McHale by battling the biggest guy first. Those intangibles made the Celtics tick.
And seriously… playing every. single. game. Forget “resting” because your back felt stiff. If you could walk, you played. Makes me wonder if today’s max contract guys could even survive one week of that grind. Kids today calling Parish “solid”? Nah. That man was the foundation. Put his body through hell so his team could win banners. Finding all this stuff just reminded me how much modern ball misses that kinda toughness.
