Top 25 Golden State Warriors in franchise history

25. Robert Parish

Best known as a member of the Boston Celtics’ “Big Three” with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale that dominated the 1980’s, Robert Parish was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 1976. He wasn’t the dominant figure that he would become in Boston quite yet. He wouldn’t even be an All-Star with the Warriors.

Parish joined the Warriors when they were two years removed from their championship run with Rick Barry. He joined the Dubs as they started to decline. They made the playoffs just once during his four year tenure on the West Coast.

He was pretty good in a limited role during his rookie campaign. He played just 18 minutes per game, his fewest until his age 41 season in 1994-95 when he played just 16 minutes per contest. He averaged 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds.

His numbers improved over the next three seasons as he started to become a really good player. In his last two seasons with the Warriors, Parish averaged 17.1 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. He also shot 49.5 percent during his four years.

The Warriors were years removed from being a winning team, missing the playoffs three years in a row. They were looking to make a change. Red Auerbach saw an opportunity to really make a move as he already had Bird on his team. He traded the first pick to the Warriors in exchange for Parish. That pick would turn into Joe Barry Carroll.

Parish would go onto bigger and better things. He’d establish himself as one of the best big men ever in Boston. While he never reached that in Golden State, he still put up some great numbers.

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