Robert Parish is one of the best centers to ever play for the Boston Celtics. Considering they once had Bill Russell and Dave Cowens, that's no small feat. Not only did Parish play a part in the Celtics winning three titles, but he also had one of the longest careers in NBA history, playing from 1976 to 1997.
What gets lost in Parish's legacy is that he's also one of the few players who went out on top. Parish snared his fourth title as a player in his last NBA season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997. By that time, he wasn't Parish anymore, but getting one last title in his swan song is still in the record books.
It's even more impressive than that, though. Parish also played with arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan. Jordan was one of the fiercest competitors professional sports has ever seen, but from the horse's mouth, he wasn't intimidated by Jordan, even with all that he had accomplished before the two joined forces.
The fact that Parish was not bothered by Jordan's greatness only makes his Celtics legacy even better.
Robert Parish's Michael Jordan story only makes him look even cooler
In an interview with HoopsHype's Sam Yip, Parish explained why the prospect of playing with MJ didn't faze him at all.
"There ain't nobody that challenged Michael. Michael had unchallenged power on that team. And rightly so. He was the main man. He should have had that. But, I just let him know that he's not the first superstar that I played with. (Expletive), Larry Bird was a superstar. I wasn't in awe of Michael Jordan. And I told him so. (Expletive), I played with a bad (expletive). (Expletive), Larry's one of the all-time greats. So why am I going to be in awe of Michael Jordan, may I ask?
Parish then told a story about how he and the Bulls' second unit beat Jordan and the starters, leading to some trash talk between the two. The Celtics legend added that challenging MJ was something that didn't happen in Chicago, which earned the NBA legend's respect.
"His teammates didn’t talk to him like that so, he took offense to it. He told me that he was gonna kick my ass and all that. I told him if you feel so strongly about it, you can come and get some. So after a little exchange that he and I had, we were cool, you know mutual respect for one another you never say another negative word to each other. It was all good."
The fact that Parish didn't back down to prime Jordan even when the former was 43 years old only makes his legacy even cooler. What probably helped is not only did Parish play with Bird, but he's also one of the few players in NBA history who beat Jordan in a playoff series.
It was a different time then, but the Celtics beat Jordan and the Bulls in his second NBA season in 1986. It may have been a sweep, but it wasn't like MJ wasn't ready for the moment even then.
The 1986 Celtics were arguably the best basketball team ever assembled (the irony is that the 1997 Bulls are up there, too), but the fact remains that they beat Jordan, something not many teams can say they did.
Parish's All-Star days may have been far behind him by the time he came to the Windy City, but his persona as a winner never waned. Not only does it make his legacy as a Celtic even cooler, but it also makes the fact that he went out a winner all the more legendary.