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By:\u00a0 Michael D. McClellan | H<\/strong>is NBA journey begins during the US Bicentennial and ends 21 seasons later, during Bill Clinton\u2019s second term as President.\u00a0 He arrives as disco is heating up, plays through the Michael Jackson-dominated \u201880s, and is still balling when Tupac is gunned down on the Vegas Strip in \u201896, winning a swansong championship during Michael Jordan\u2019s Second Coming with the Chicago Bulls.\u00a0 Jordan might take time off to chill with Bugs Bunny and star in Space Jam<\/em>, but it\u2019s the quiet Louisianan who spaces out his own jams, a seven-foot wonder who runs the court for four teams over three decades of uninterrupted excellence.<\/p>\n All told, Robert Lee Parish plays fourteen of those twenty-one memorable seasons in a Celtic uniform.\u00a0 He arrives, along with rookie Kevin McHale, as part of Red Auerbach\u2019s famous heist job on the Golden State Warriors, teaming with Larry Bird to lift Boston among the league\u2019s elite.\u00a0 The move fuels the Celtics\u2019 magical seven year run, a stretch that produces five trips to the NBA Finals, three NBA titles, and countless signature moments by Boston\u2019s talented trio of big men.\u00a0 Nicknamed \u201cChief\u201d by teammate Cedric Maxwell, Parish quietly suppresses his own considerable game for the overall good of the team.\u00a0 While Bird and McHale get most of the touches, he\u2019s content to labor in the shadows of their out sized personas.<\/p>\n \u201cRobert was special because he knew his place on the team,\u201d says his former head coach, KC Jones.\u00a0 \u201cHe knew that there were only so many basketballs to go around.\u00a0 Robert embraced his role on the team, which was to rebound, play tough defense, and to be a force in the middle.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t to say that Robert wasn\u2019t a great offensive player; he could have put up big numbers on other teams.\u00a0 He just understood what was expected from him and he went out and did his job.\u201d<\/p>\n Born in Shreveport, a teenage Robert Parish grows faster than Louisiana kudzu and begins a mesmerizing transformation.\u00a0 He enters the desegregated world of Woodlawn High School unsure of his basketball potential, but exits as the best player in school history.\u00a0 With Parish dominating in the paint, Woodlawn reaches the state finals two years running.\u00a0 As a senior, he leads Woodlawn to a state championship, capping his 1972 dream season by being named Louisiana\u2019s Player of the Year.\u00a0 With nearly 400 scholarship offers to choose from, he decides to play his collegiate basketball at tiny Centenary College \u2013 a mere six miles away from home.<\/p>\n The decision is tested shortly after Parish commits, when Centenary is placed on probation for various rules violations.\u00a0 To make matters worse, the school is banned from tournament play the entire four years he\u2019s at the school.\u00a0 With all of its basketball players free to transfer elsewhere, he decides to remain in Shreveport.<\/p>\n Parish stands out on the campus of this predominantly white, Methodist school in more ways than one, but because Centenary is a small independent with no conference tie-ins, he quickly disappears from the nation\u2019s basketball landscape.\u00a0 There is no social media in 1972.\u00a0 The school\u2019s games aren\u2019t on TV.\u00a0 Parish toils in relative anonymity, quietly averaging 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds during his collegiate career, leading the nation in rebounding twice, and being named to The Sporting News<\/em> All-America first team as a senior.<\/p>\n Despite the low profile, the Golden State Warriors select Parish with the 8th overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft.\u00a0 Stoic and dignified, the rookie joins a veteran team fresh off a championship in \u201875.\u00a0 He averages 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds as a rookie, impressive numbers for a young center logging just under 18 minutes-per-game.<\/p>\n The honeymoon is short-lived; Golden State\u2019s win totals decline each season, bottoming out with a 24-58 record in 1979-80.\u00a0 Players like Rick Barry are kept past their primes and young talent like Jamaal Wilkes and Gus Williams are traded before reaching their full potential.\u00a0 Parish continues to improve \u2013 he becomes a starter, and by his third season is averaging 17.2 points and 12.1 rebounds \u2013 but the losing trumps anything Parish does on the court.<\/p>\n The Celtics possess the top pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, two spots ahead of Golden State.\u00a0 Auerbach offers to trade picks with Warriors, on the condition that Parish is included as part of the trade.\u00a0 Parish, now in a Celtics uniform, responds by averaging 18.9 points and 9.5 rebounds, earning his first All-Star Game appearance.\u00a0 The Celtics roll to a 62-20 record and a date with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals.\u00a0 In an historic series, the Sixers \u2013 led by the incomparable Julius Erving \u2013 forge a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 series lead.\u00a0 Yet the Celtics are able to fight their way back, winning three consecutive nail biters to advance.\u00a0 The Celtics then defeat the Houston Rockets in the 1981 NBA Finals, 4-2, winning the team\u2019s 14th championship.<\/p>\n Parish continues to blossom.\u00a0 He registers 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the \u201882 All-Star Game, and earns a spot on the All-NBA Second Team, but a Game 7 loss to the Sixers in the \u201882 Eastern Conference Finals, followed by a four-game sweep by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1983 playoffs, leaves a bitter taste.\u00a0 With the team regressing, Auerbach responds with two shrewd moves:\u00a0 He names KC Jones as the team\u2019s head coach, and trades for defensive stopper Dennis Johnson.\u00a0 The Celtics respond, winning the 1984 NBA Championship in a classic seven game thriller.<\/p>\n Los Angeles exorcises its demons a year later, beating the Celtics in six games.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bitter pill to swallow, especially for a Boston team storms to a 63-19 regular season record, tops in the league.\u00a0 Parish averages 17.6 points and 10.6 rebounds, but finds himself drained from playing heavy minutes.\u00a0 Help arrives when Auerbach swings a major deal during the off-season, trading away the popular Maxwell for Bill Walton, a former superstar center with a history of foot problems.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a risky move that pays off handsomely; the Celtics go 67-15 and beat the Rockets in the 1986 NBA Finals.\u00a0 The \u201886 title is the high point for Parish and the Celtics.\u00a0 A slow descent follows the tragic death of Len Bias, who succumbs to a cocaine overdose just two days after the 1986 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n Parish averages 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds in his 11th season, which includes his lone career triple-double, recorded on March 29 against the Philadelphia 76ers.\u00a0 He hobbles through much of the 1987 NBA Playoffs, missing a second-round game against Milwaukee and repeatedly willing himself up the court against the young, hungry Detroit Pistons.\u00a0 That series remains best-known for Bird\u2019s last-second steal of Isiah Thomas\u2019 inbounds pass, but few can forget the sight of a courageous Robert Parish limping into battle.<\/p>\n By the 1990s, Boston is a solid playoff team, but the new decade is a dark time for a team with such a storied past.\u00a0 Bird\u2019s back is so bad that he often lays prone on the floor when not in the game.\u00a0 McHale, who guts out the \u201887 playoffs on a broken foot, becomes a shell of his former self.\u00a0 Both are in retirement by 1993, the same year that Reggie Lewis dies while shooting baskets at Brandeis College.<\/p>\n Through it all, Parish remains a significant and viable piece of the Celtics\u2019 rebuilding process.\u00a0 At age 40, he averages 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds, and logs 51 minutes in a 104-94 overtime Celtics win over the defending champion Bulls.\u00a0 He is the team\u2019s elder statesman, the last link to its championship past, his tenure exceed only by the man who traded for him all those ago.<\/p>\n Parish\u2019s next two seasons are spent as a reserve with the Charlotte Hornets, where he becomes the NBA’s all-time leader in games played, passing Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 1,560 on April 6, 1996 in a game at Cleveland.<\/p>\n On October 29th, 1996 \u2013 more than twenty years after Parish takes the court as a Golden State rookie, and less than two months after Tupac is gunned down on the Vegas Strip \u2013 the player known as \u201cChief\u201d is recognized by the league as one of the NBA\u2019s 50 Greatest.\u00a0 He spends that final season in Chicago, winning a fourth NBA championship and walking away with an armful of records, among them:\u00a0 Most seasons played all-time (21); most games played all-time (1,611); most offensive rebounds in the NBA Playoffs (571); and most defensive rebounds all-time (10,117).<\/p>\n The records are impressive, but Parish doesn\u2019t spend much time reliving them.\u00a0 Still, he doesn\u2019t waste an opportunity to let that wicked sense of humor shine.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Larry and Kevin around, I didn\u2019t get much credit for my offensive skills \u2013 but that\u2019s because they took all of the shots,\u201d he says, laughing heartily.\u00a0 \u201cBe sure to let them know I said that.\u201d<\/p>\n You were born on October 30, 1953, in Shreveport, Louisiana.\u00a0 Take me back to your childhood.<\/strong><\/p>\n We were a close-knit, happy family, and this closeness was fostered mainly by my mother.\u00a0 She was a religious woman.\u00a0 She taught us the fundamental beliefs from the bible.\u00a0 She taught us the importance of faith and religion, and also the importance of being respectful.\u00a0 We learned courtesy at a very early age.\u00a0 My parents worked hard to provide for us \u2013 there were four children, and I was the oldest, with one brother and two sisters \u2013 and they always stressed the value of a good work ethic.\u00a0 They also wanted us to get an education.\u00a0 They knew how important a degree would be when it came time to find work.\u00a0 A degree meant the difference between a career and a life of hard work.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n You credit your junior high school coach, Coleman Kidd, with spurring your interest in basketball.\u00a0 Please tell me about Mr. Kidd.<\/strong><\/p>\n Coleman Kidd deserves all the credit for the things that led up to me playing basketball.\u00a0 I had never played basketball until I was in junior high school.\u00a0 He was persistent; he saw the potential in me, even when I didn\u2019t see it myself, and he kept after me to pick up a ball and play competitively.\u00a0 I showed very little interest initially, but he stayed with me, kept encouraging me, and kept me positive \u2013 even though I wasn\u2019t showing a desire to play the game of basketball.\u00a0 So if I had to pick one factor that left me to the basketball court, it would have to be Coleman Kidd.\u00a0 If it weren\u2019t for him, I would have been just another tall kid walking around the streets of Shreveport [laughs].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You led Woodlawn to the\u00a0<\/strong>state finals two straight years, winning a state championship along the way.\u00a0 In 1972, you were named Louisiana’s Player of the Year.\u00a0 Why did you choose tiny Centenary College?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s very interesting, because I never dreamed that I would be the player that I was at that particular time.\u00a0 Like I said earlier, I didn\u2019t show promise initially.\u00a0 The process was a lot easier on me because of my parents.\u00a0 The gathered all of the information together, made a list of the pros and cons of each college, and helped me to make a sound decision about where I wanted to go.\u00a0 The reason I went to a small college \u2013 Centenary College \u2013 is because I didn\u2019t want to be compared to other greats that had played before me. If I had gone to UCLA, for example, I would have faced constant comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.\u00a0 If I had chosen Kansas, I would have played in the shadow of Wilt Chamberlain.\u00a0 So one of the big reasons I chose Centenary was because I wanted to carve out my own identity, and not get caught up in that comparison thing.\u00a0\u00a0Also, I liked the coaches at that time \u2013 Larry Little and Rodney Wallace.\u00a0 They put a lot of emphasis on education first, and athletics second \u2013 and not the other way around.\u00a0 That impressed me a great deal, but it really impressed my parents.\u00a0 It was important for them to hear that education was the number one priority, because I was the first one in my family to get a college education.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Centenary was placed on probation for various rules violations, where it would remain during your entire four years at the school.\u00a0 With all basketball players free to transfer elsewhere, why did you decide to stay in Shreveport?<\/strong><\/p>\n There were several factors.\u00a0 One, I was a father in college.\u00a0 I wanted my child to be close to family, and the college was very close to home.\u00a0 Two, it was group decision made by those of us who had the opportunity to leave.\u00a0 There were six or seven of us that could have transferred.\u00a0 We all decided to stay, so it was a group decision to stay on at Centenary College.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You averaged 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds in college, and were named to The Sporting News<\/em> All-America First Team as a senior.\u00a0 Did you think your skills would translate at the NBA level?<\/strong><\/p>\n I had great confidence in myself, and I knew that I could compete.\u00a0 It was just a matter of getting the opportunity and making the most of it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Golden State Warriors selected you with the 8th overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft.<\/strong><\/p>\n It was an exciting time time for me.\u00a0 It was also a learning experience.\u00a0 I was fortunate to have a mentor in Clifford Ray, who took me under his wings and taught me all about being a professional athlete.\u00a0 He stressed the importance of things like work ethic, nutrition, and fitness \u2013 both mentally and physically.\u00a0 That really made a big difference in me, because the only thing I had to do was concentrate on basketball.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Please tell me a little about your four seasons as a Warrior.<\/strong><\/p>\n The team was going through a transition.\u00a0 Golden State has won the championship in ’75, sweeping the Washington Bullets, and that team had been led by Rick Barry.\u00a0 They reached the Western Conference Finals the next season.\u00a0 Then they drafted me, and we were beat by the Lakers in the ’77 Western Conference Semifinals.\u00a0 The next three seasons we failed to make the playoffs, and there were a lot of disgruntled people – the fans, management, and players included.\u00a0 It wasn’t the best of times to be a Warrior.\u00a0\u00a0I considered cutting my career short before the trade because I was being blamed for the Warriors\u2019 demise.\u00a0 I understood that I was the team\u2019s top pick, and that a lot of pressure comes along with that.\u00a0 But basketball isn\u2019t an individual sport.\u00a0 I just felt like the Warriors at that time were an assembly of misfit pieces.\u00a0 Guys were thinking about their own agendas as opposed to that of the team.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What was it like finding out that you’d been traded from Golden State to Boston?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was like going from the outhouse to the penthouse in one phone call [laughs].\u00a0 I’d taken a lot of the blame for the Warriors’ problems, but there was plenty of blame to go around.\u00a0 When I found out I’d been traded, I poured myself a stiff drink and celebrated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sounds like you were happy with the change in scenery.<\/strong><\/p>\n The trade gave me incentive, and I was motivated to play basketball again because I was finally surrounded by the talent that I played with in college.\u00a0 I mean that in relative terms, of course.\u00a0 In other words, in college we had a front line that was very dominant at that level, and we played very well together.\u00a0 Everyone understood their role, and they went out and did their job.\u00a0 It was the same with the three of us in Boston.\u00a0 We all understood what our roles were going to be, and we understood this from a very early point in time.\u00a0 There was no jealousy.\u00a0 We fit together very well, and complimented each other perfectly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What was that first Celtics training camp like?<\/strong><\/p>\n The first day of training camp was very intense, very focused.\u00a0 There was complete dedication on the part of everyone.\u00a0 It was like a playoff-type atmosphere in terms of intensity.\u00a0 All of the practices, in fact, felt like playoff-type games.\u00a0 Just from seeing that, and being exposed to that, I knew very quickly that we could be very special.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How long did it take for you to realize that the Big Three of Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Larry Bird was destined for greatness?<\/strong><\/p>\n Initially, I didn\u2019t realize that myself, Larry and Kevin was going to turn out to be such a respected front line.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t really sink in until after Dave Cowens retired.\u00a0 I had all intentions of going into it as being a backup to Dave.\u00a0 I had no idea that Dave was going to step down so abruptly.\u00a0 And then, once we started playing together on a consistent basis, I realized that we had the capacity to be something special.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cedric Maxwell nicknamed you “Chief.”<\/strong><\/p>\n Cedric nicknamed me Chief because when I came to Boston I was always talking about this movie,\u00a0One Flew Over The Cuckoo\u2019s Nest.<\/em>\u00a0 I\u2019m a big fan of Jack Nicholson, and I finally convinced Cedric to see the movie.\u00a0 He said that I had similar characteristics to Chief Bromden \u2013 mainly because Chief had \u2018em all fooled.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t talk \u2013 he was a mute \u2013 and then it turns out that there wasn\u2019t anything wrong with the Chief.\u00a0 He was just there, in that insane asylum, relaxing and taking it easy.\u00a0 And because I was so quiet, I think I had a lot of people fooled.\u00a0 So that\u2019s how I came about that nickname.\u00a0 Oh, and I have a wicked sense of humor [laughs].\u00a0 Only people who are in my inner circle know that, though.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The Celtics and the 76ers waged some great battles in the early 80s, none better than the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals.\u00a0 Down 3-1, you were able to win three consecutive games and reach the Finals against Houston.\u00a0 What was the key to your comeback?<\/strong><\/p>\n I would have to credit our coach at the time, Bill Fitch, for us staying determined and focused, and for us not giving up.\u00a0 He instilled a physical toughness in us, but he also instilled a mental toughness that helped carry us even when things looked to be hopeless.\u00a0 Even though we were down 3-1, he never let us doubt ourselves.\u00a0 He always preached that we could come back and win the series.\u00a0 He said that it\u2019s not over until it\u2019s over.\u00a0 And that attitude really started from the first day of training camp.\u00a0 I think that was one of the big reasons we were able to prevail in that series.<\/p>\n Bill Fitch was the perfect coach for us at the time.\u00a0 We were young, and he had a lifetime of coaching experience to share with us.\u00a0 He was a great Xs and Os coach, as well as a great tactician.\u00a0 He really understood the game.\u00a0 And as I\u2019ve said, he instilled a great sense of belief in ourselves.\u00a0 We had the physical tools to succeed at the NBA level, but he helped give us the mental toughness that can help carry us through all types of adversity.\u00a0 He also taught us structure and discipline.\u00a0 He helped us to stay focused.\u00a0 I have a tremendous amount of respect for Bill Fitch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What was it like beating Houston to win the ’81 NBA Championship?<\/strong><\/p>\n Greatest feeling in the world.\u00a0 For it to all come together so quickly in Boston was something special.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your Celtics came up short in the two seasons following that championship.\u00a0 Getting swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the ’83 NBA Playoffs may have been the low point.\u00a0 What did the acquisition of Dennis Johnson mean in terms of winning another title?<\/strong><\/p>\n He fortified our defensive presence, for one thing.\u00a0 Also, he gave us another point guard after Tiny Archibald retired.\u00a0 People don\u2019t realize just how talented Dennis Johnson was, because he made the transition from off guard to point guard appear so seamless.\u00a0 That\u2019s a hell of a transition, I think, and he did it comfortably.\u00a0 Dennis was just exactly what we needed at that time to solidify our backcourt.\u00a0 He gave us the defensive presence that we needed back there, and he complimented our front-court players.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bill Fitch was fired, and replaced by KC Jones.\u00a0 Please tell me a little about KC.<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve always felt like KC was one of the better coaches in the league.\u00a0 Personally, I would rank him among the top coaches ever in the NBA, because of his uncanny ability to relate to his players.\u00a0 KC knew his Xs and Os, don\u2019t get me wrong, but the way that he understood his players was the thing that really set him apart.\u00a0 He was like Red Auerbach in that respect.\u00a0 The one thing that I always admired about KC \u2013 and there a lot of things to admire \u2013 was his ability to make that eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth guy on the team feel like his role and his input was just as important as one through six or seven.\u00a0 I think that was one of the reasons why we were so successful.\u00a0 He made everyone feel important, no matter how big or how small their role was with the Boston Celtics.\u00a0 Two other coaches come to mind who were like that \u2013 Phil Jackson and Chuck Daly.\u00a0 They were very similar in that regard, and I think that is what made each of those coaches so successful.\u00a0 In the NBA, it\u2019s so important to understand the personalities of the players, and how to get the best out of them.\u00a0 It takes a special talent to do that, and those three guys all had that ability.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n KC speaks very highly of you.<\/strong><\/p>\n KC always appreciated they sacrifices that I made on the offensive end.\u00a0 There were only so many balls to go around, which meant that someone had to make some adjustments to make it all work.\u00a0 I’m a low-key guy who doesn’t need the limelight, and for me it was never about putting up stats.\u00a0 With Larry and Kevin playing at such high levels, I didn\u2019t get much credit for my offensive skills \u2013 that\u2019s because they shot all the balls [laughs].\u00a0 I don\u2019t mean that in a negative way \u2013 I can\u2019t complain about the formula, because it certainly worked.\u00a0 We were very successful.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Who is the best player you’ve ever gone up against, and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kareem is the best player I ever played against, period.\u00a0 The best thing I could ever say about Kareem, is that no one ever devised a defense that could stop him.\u00a0 He figured out a way to exploit every defensive scheme ever thrown at him.\u00a0 He was so smart and so intelligent, and such an extremely gifted athlete.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t change his shot; Kareem was the only player that I ever played against like that.\u00a0 I think the reason Kareem was so effective with the hook shot was that he was able to shoot it the same way every time.\u00a0 It was automatic.\u00a0 Wilt Chamberlain was the only player that I saw who could make Kareem alter his hook shot.\u00a0 He\u2019s the only one.\u00a0 Other than that, Kareem was able to shoot it the same way time after time.\u00a0 That\u2019s the way he was able to become so proficient.\u00a0 Nobody ever got close to that shot, except for Wilt Chamberlain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 1984 NBA Finals remains one of the most-watched of all-time.\u00a0 Take me back.<\/strong><\/p>\n That series against the Lakers was a war.\u00a0 Every game was a battle.\u00a0 Every possession was a battle.\u00a0 You had Michael Cooper guarding Larry.\u00a0 Cooper was one of the few players alive who could guard Larry and consistently cause him problems.\u00a0 He would blanket Larry and make it hard for him to take that quick first step to the basket.\u00a0 He would contest every jump shot.\u00a0 Larry would still put up great numbers, but he had to work much harder at it with Cooper guarding him.\u00a0 I remember Gerald Henderson stealing the ball to save us in Game 2.\u00a0 If he hadn\u2019t come up with that steal, we would have gone to Los Angeles in an 0-2 hole.\u00a0 It was big.\u00a0 I remember getting blown out in Game 3 \u2013 we were embarrassed.\u00a0 Magic [Johnson] and James Worthy just killed us in that game \u2013 we were behind from the opening tip, and we couldn\u2019t do anything to turn it around.\u00a0 That\u2019s when Larry took his frustrations public.\u00a0 He challenged the team in the paper, and it motivated everyone to play harder.\u00a0 That next game was one of the most physical that I\u2019ve ever played in \u2013 Kevin gave Kurt Rambis that clothesline, and Larry was going jaw-to-jaw with Kareem.\u00a0 Nobody backed down.\u00a0 We won that game, and then two of the next three to win the championship.\u00a0 Dennis played great defense on Magic the whole series, but he was especially good against him in those last three games.\u00a0 It was a classic series, and one that I\u2019m glad we were able to win.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Celtics won it all again in 1986.\u00a0 Where does this team rank among the all-time greats?<\/strong><\/p>\n In my opinion, I would have to say that it was in the top five teams of all-time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bill Walton’s play pushed that team to another level.\u00a0 Tell me about Bill.<\/strong><\/p>\n What Bill brought to the Celtics was his toughness.\u00a0 He brought his knowledge of what it takes to win it all, because he was a huge part of that championship team in Portland.\u00a0 He was a former All-Star, a former NBA Most Valuable Player, and one of the best passing big men of all-time.\u00a0 And what made him so special that year was his humility. He had been one of the league\u2019s greatest players, and yet he was willing to come off the bench and provide the punch that we needed.\u00a0 He set a great example for that second unit.\u00a0 He was willing to put his ego aside for the good of the team.\u00a0 Forget about basketball; how many athletes of his stature would be willing to take a lesser role for the overall good of the team?<\/p>\n I remember when the Celtics traded for Bill.\u00a0 We had to give up Cedric Maxwell, a good friend and a very good player, and suddenly we have another quality center on the team.\u00a0 Bill didn\u2019t hesitate to call me as soon as the trade was announced.\u00a0 He wanted me to know that I was still the starting center, and that he wasn\u2019t coming to Boston to take my job.\u00a0 He said that he was coming to help.\u00a0 It was a class move on his part, making that call.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have to do that, either \u2013 that was something that he did on his own.\u00a0 He was not asked to call me, or encouraged to call me.\u00a0 That was something that he wanted to do, out of respect for me.\u00a0 And I\u2019ll never forget that.\u00a0 And Bill was always a player that I respected and admired from afar, because I always liked the way he played the game on both ends of the floor.\u00a0 And that\u2019s how I prided myself \u2013 I wanted to be consistent on both ends, and not just be a one-dimensional player.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the same way that Bill Walton played the game.\u00a0 He excelled on both ends, and he was probably the best passing big man that I\u2019d ever seen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Where were you when you heard the news that Len Bias had died?\u00a0 And what effect did it have on the future of the Boston Celtics?<\/strong><\/p>\n Riding down the highway.\u00a0 Actually I was going down the Mass Pike [Massachusetts Turnpike] and I heard it on the radio.\u00a0 I thought it was the station\u2019s way of telling some sort of cruel joke.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to believe it.\u00a0 I had to think twice about what I\u2019d just heard.\u00a0 I was like, “Man, they\u2019ve got a weird sense of humor.”\u00a0 That\u2019s what I said to myself, because it wasn\u2019t funny at all.\u00a0 And then it turned out to be true.\u00a0 It broke my heart.<\/p>\n Bias’ death hurt the team in a big way, because he was going to be the next big star.\u00a0 The heir apparent to Larry Bird.\u00a0 But let\u2019s not forget about Reggie Lewis.\u00a0 Think how good the Celtics would have been with those two players.\u00a0 They were going to be the future cornerstones of the Boston Celtics.\u00a0 In my opinion, we would have won at least \u2013 at least \u2013 one more championship if we had both Reggie Lewis and Len Bias.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Celtics and Pistons waged war on the hardwood.\u00a0 What stands out in your mind about those physical games with Detroit’s Bad Boys?<\/strong><\/p>\n The intensity.\u00a0 The competitiveness.\u00a0 The adjustments made by both coaching staffs.\u00a0 I thought it was two great teams battling one another \u2013 one of them was on the decline, and the other team was on its way up.\u00a0 It was a classic rivalry \u2013 I liken it to the Celtics\u2019 rivalry between teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers.\u00a0 That\u2019s how intense it was.\u00a0 It was a war.\u00a0 I respect those guys and what they accomplished, and how competitive they were.\u00a0 They were finally able to get by the Celtics and win a couple of championships of their own.\u00a0 Whether or not you liked the Detroit Pistons, you had to respect them for the way they played the game.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n Everyone, it seems, has a favorite Red Auerbach story.\u00a0 Do you have one that stands out?<\/strong><\/p>\n One thing I always respected about Red was his honesty.\u00a0 He was always honest.\u00a0 If Red told you something, you could believe him.\u00a0 He never lied.\u00a0 He was never full of pretense.\u00a0 Red was all about the business of winning championships.\u00a0 Which brings me to another thing I admired and respected about Red; whatever we needed, Red always seemed able to find that one particular player to put us back on top.\u00a0 When we needed someone to put the clamps on Magic Johnson, Red went out and traded for Dennis.\u00a0 We won the championship that next season.\u00a0 When we needed someone to provide a spark off of the bench, Red traded for Bill Walton.\u00a0 We won the championship that next season.\u00a0 He could always find that player to make us a better team, and I respected him greatly for that.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the thing I respected about the Lakers, too.\u00a0 They would always go out and get what they needed, whether it was a coach or a player.\u00a0 I liked that about L.A. Hopefully the Celtics will get it back.\u00a0 They\u2019re definitely headed in the right direction, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n Of your time spent with the Boston Celtics, do you have a fond memory or an amusing story that stands out most?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes.\u00a0 This has something to do with Johnny Most, our radio announcer.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if you know this or not, but Johnny was a chain smoker.\u00a0 I can\u2019t remember for sure, but it was either Danny Ainge or Kevin McHale who replaced some of Johnny\u2019s cigarettes with some of those party poppers.\u00a0 Those are cigarettes that explode when you light the tip.\u00a0 So, they replaced about five or six of Johnny\u2019s cigarettes.\u00a0 He would light one after another and they would explode.\u00a0 Well, after about the third one he caught on that someone had tampered with his cigarettes.\u00a0 He got so mad!\u00a0 He went on this swearing rampage \u2013 he broke out swear words I\u2019d never heard of before [laughs].\u00a0 Talk about a colorful delivery!\u00a0 It was one of the funniest things I\u2019d ever seen in my life.<\/p>\n One time, Johnny fell asleep and somebody tied his shoelaces together.\u00a0 He got up to go to the bathroom and stumbled.\u00a0 I think KC caught him \u2013 he didn\u2019t hit the floor \u2013 and he went on another one of those swearing tirades.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t stop laughing, and the harder we laughed the madder he got.\u00a0 Johnny Most had that distinctive voice, and as he got madder his voice got higher.\u00a0 It was unbelievable [laughs].<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n Final Question:\u00a0 If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that be?<\/strong><\/p>\n Believe in yourself, no matter what.\u00a0 If you believe in yourself, and have confidence in yourself, then you can accomplish anything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By:\u00a0 Michael D. McClellan | His NBA journey begins during the US Bicentennial and ends 21 seasons later, during Bill Clinton\u2019s second term as President.\u00a0 He arrives as disco is heating up, plays through the Michael Jackson-dominated \u201880s, and is still balling when Tupac is gunned down on the Vegas Strip in \u201896, winning a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","iawp_total_views":5,"footnotes":""},"categories":[773,776],"tags":[363],"class_list":["post-7988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-interview","category-bird-era","tag-robert-parish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.celtic-nation.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/basketball.png\")
<\/p>\n