On this day, April 6th, in 1996, Robert Parish became the all-time NBA leader in regular season games played. Best known for his many years as a Boston Celtic, Parish was a common sight for NBA fans for over 2 decades. Not too shabby for a kid from Shreveport, Louisiana.
He earned the nickname “the Chief” after the character Chief Bromden from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It was given due to his stoic nature and no-nonsense demeanor. His persona, strong defense and consistent jumper helped the Celtics win 3 championships. But sadly all things come to an end and after his long time in Boston he ended up on the Charlotte Hornets. It was with Charlotte that he played with in which he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 1,560. Surprisingly on his feet during this game was a pair of Champion sneakers.
After that season Parish would go on to finish his career with Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. That is where he would go on to get one more ring to add to his previous three. He remains the oldest player to win an NBA championship thanks to this feat and was no surprise to be named to the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players list. Parish’s number “00” would go on to be retired by the Celtics and he still holds the NBA record for most games played in the league with 1,611 regular season games. Quite the feat when you consider the closest current player is Kevin Garnett at 1,424 games. Salute Big Chief!
