As coach: Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player.

A 7'1" center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 1997.

During his 14-year tenure with the Boston Celtics, Parish teamed with Hall-of-Fame forwards Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to form one of the greatest front lines in NBA history.

[1] 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.

"[Coach] Coleman would come to my house and take me to practice every day until I had to start showing up myself; I give all the credit to him.

"[2] Parish attended Woodlawn High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he played for Coach Ken Ivy.

"[2] However, he received virtually no notice because of one of the most severe penalties ever levied by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

[3] Beginning in 1965, the NCAA used a formula to determine the academic eligibility of incoming freshmen seeking to play varsity sports.

[3] Within days of its decision, the NCAA repealed the 1.6 rule, but refused to make the five Centenary players eligible.

[3] The decision made Parish a sort of "invisible man" who racked up huge statistical totals in virtual obscurity.

In his four years at Centenary, the Gents went 87-21 and spent 14 weeks in the AP Top 20 poll, mostly during his senior season in 1975–76.

[6][7] Between his junior and senior years at Centenary, Parish played for Team USA at the 1975 Pan American Games.

[3] Throughout his time at Centenary, Parish chose not to escape anonymity by either jumping to the National Basketball Association or American Basketball Association (the latter of which existed until the ABA–NBA merger in 1976), or by transferring to another college, even though the professional ranks offered him potential riches and a transfer would have given him eligibility and far more publicity.

At the time, professional scouts did not question his physical skills, but were divided as to whether his decision to stay at Centenary was a show of loyalty or evidence of poor decision-making.

But once I hung up from the Warriors after they called me and told me I was being traded to the Boston Celtics, I cheered and I jumped up and down ... because I went from the (penitentiary) to the penthouse, in my opinion...

"[12] Playing 14 years with the Celtics from 1980 to 1994,[14] Parish won three NBA titles (1981, 1984 and 1986) while teamed with Bird and McHale.

[24] In 14 seasons and 1106 games with the Celtics, Parish averaged a double-double of 16.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, shooting 55.2% from the floor.

[13] On August 4, 1994, at age 41, Parish left the Celtics and signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Charlotte Hornets.

With Chicago, Parish joined a team coming off a fourth championship with fellow Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoč and Dennis Rodman.

[13] In 184 career playoff games, Parish averaged 15.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, shooting 50.6% from the field.

[23] Fellow Hall-of-Famer and teammate Bill Walton once called Parish "probably the best medium-range shooting big man in the history of the game".

[38] In 1996, Parish, along with teammates Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Nate Archibald, and Bill Walton, was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

[13] In October 2021, Parish was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

[9] In 2001, Parish served as the head coach of the Maryland Mustangs, an expansion team in the United States Basketball League (USBL).

[42] Unlike his Celtics teammates Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, and Kevin McHale, Parish has not attained a coaching, executive, or commentary position in the NBA.

McHale, who served as the general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, said he tried to hire Parish shortly before his departure from the team but was unable to do so because of a lack of available positions.

[49] During his career, Parish is alleged to have incorporated martial arts,[50] yoga, and vegetarianism into his training and conditioning.

[51] In a 2022 interview, Parish stated he was never a vegetarian; he eats chicken and fish, but avoids red meat.