About Robert Parish
Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953), nicknamed "the Chief", is an American former professional basketball player. A 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) center, he played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, and Chicago Bulls, helping the Celtics win three NBA championships while teaming with Hall-of-Fame forwards Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, and won a fourth championship with the Bulls prior to his retirement. During his college career at Centenary College, Parish racked up impressive enough numbers to be drafted three times—twice by teams from the ABA and once in 1976 by the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. Parish played four seasons for the Warriors. In 1980, he was traded to the Boston Celtics along with a draft pick that the Celtics would use to select forward Kevin McHale. Parish and McHale joined star forward Larry Bird on the Celtics. Known as the Big Three, the trio won three NBA championships together. Parish left the Celtics as a free agent following the 1993–1994 season and went on to play two more seasons with the Charlotte Hornets and one with the Chicago Bulls, winning an NBA title with the Bulls in 1997 before retiring from the NBA at age 43. Parish played 1,611 games in his career, ranking second of all-time in the NBA, behind only LeBron James. He played in 21 NBA seasons, a 5-way tie for third-most in league history. Aside from his career longevity, Parish is known for his strong defense, rebounding and high-trajectory jump shot. He is a nine-time NBA All-Star, a four-time NBA champion and he was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams. The Celtics retired his jersey in 1998. Parish was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. Parish played an NBA-record 1,611 games in his career. Parish was already 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall in the seventh grade (age 12–13) when junior high coach Coleman Kidd first noticed him and encouraged him to play basketball, which was new to him. A 7'1" center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 1997.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.