Ranking the 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old
26. player. 18. . C. Boston Celtics. Robert Parish
The 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old — 26. Robert Parish, 1988-89 (35)
If this list was simply a ranking of who played the most after turning 35, then Robert Parish would rank first with a bullet. He appeared in 670 regular-season games from his age-35 season on, the most of any player in league history. Only two other players even clear 500, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Vince Carter. Parish also is the career leader in “old man” minutes and rebounds, is second to Abdul-Jabbar in blocks and sixth in steals.
Parish entered the league at the age of 23 and played 21 seasons in the league, retiring at the age of 43. The 7-1 center, nicknamed “The Chief” was the defensive anchor for the Larry Bird Boston Celtics throughout the 1980s. He made nine All-Star games with the Celtics, the latest coming in 1990-91 at the age of 37.
His last truly great season came at the age of 35 in 1988-89. With Bird struggling with injuries and limited to just six games, the frontcourt combination of Parish and Kevin McHale drug an aging team into the postseason. Parish scored 18.6 points, grabbed a career-best 12.5 rebounds, and swatted 1.5 blocks per game.
He finished fourth in the league in effective field goal percentage, led the league in total rebound percentage and was 14th in win shares despite his team’s overall struggles. Parish was named to the All-NBA third team and received a few MVP votes. He would go on to play eight more seasons after this one.