The 50 greatest players in NBA history, ranked by win shares
By Cal Durrett
Greatest NBA Player #25: Robert Parish-147.00
Celtics legend Robert Parish ranking higher on this list than former teammate Larry Bird is amusing, but there is a reason why he is higher. Parish played forever—1,611 games over 21 seasons, to be exact. Compare that to Bird, who played fewer than 900 games in just 13 seasons but has just as few less win shares.
That isn’t to say Parrish wasn’t good, but his longevity is a big reason why he cracks the top-25. He, along with Bird and Kevin McHale, formed one of the winningest trios in NBA history, winning three championships and going to the Finals another two times.
Parish served as the backbone of those Celtics teams, providing efficient scoring, rebounding, and rim protection. Despite that, he never averaged more than 19 points per game in a single season, making him a rarity on this list, though he did manage to finish with more than 23,000 points.
Factor in his 2,330 blocked shots and 14,735 rebounds, and it’s easy to see why he would be as high as he is. Be that as it may, while he is certainly one of the 75 greatest players, he definitely isn’t someone many would consider to be a top-25 player.