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H2H 65: Kevin McHale vs. Robert Parish – Who was Better?

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Cavic = Steve Lipofsky, Lipofsky-Kevin McHale, CC BY-SA 3.0

During the 1980s, the NBA was dominated by the fierce rivalry between cornerstone franchises the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, who combined for eight titles during the decade.  Each team was loaded with stars and Hall of Famers – on the Lakers side, there was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, etc. Meanwhile, for the Celtics, Larry Bird was the clear alpha, but also formed one of the original “Big Threes” and a dominant frontcourt alongside Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.  Between the tough-nosed and versatile McHale and the durable and consistent Parish, each player was an All-Star and Hall of Famer in his own right, thus bringing up the question:

Who was better – Kevin McHale or Robert Parish?

The Beginning

McHale and Parish were both outstanding high school and college basketball players who were NBA lottery draft picks – their careers were first intertwined when a draft-day trade brought both players to the Celtics in 1980.

A Minnesota native, McHale was Minnesota Mr. Basketball as a high school senior in 1976; he chose to stay local at the University of Minnesota for his college basketball career, where he was named All-Big Ten in both his junior and senior seasons.  In the 1980 NBA Draft, the Celtics had the top overall pick, but traded it along with another first-round pick to the Golden State Warriors for Parish and the third overall pick, which they then used to select McHale. As a rookie, McHale came off the bench to average 10.0 points (on 53.3% shooting) and 4.4 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-Rookie team.

A few years older than his longtime teammate, Parish started playing basketball in Louisiana in junior high as a 6’6” seventh grader and also began wearing his famous “00” uniform number because it was the only jersey left.  As a senior in high school, he was All-City, All-District, All-State, and All-American while leading his team to a Louisiana state championship. Subsequently, Parish attended nearby Centenary College of Louisiana for his collegiate ball; however, during his four seasons there, the school was on NCAA probation for academic violations (which involved Parish) and thus could not play in the postseason or have player statistics formally recognized.  Despite this, Parish led the team to a top-20 ranking his senior year and was named a Sporting News First Team All-American and an AP Second Team All-American.  Moreover, he was first drafted by the Utah Stars in the 1973 ABA Special Circumstances Draft and then, by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1975 ABA Draft before entering the NBA upon being selected eighth overall in the first round of the 1976 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors – as a rookie, he averaged 9.1 points (50.3% shooting) and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Career Comparison

Throughout the 1980s, McHale and Parish each established himself as a superstar player in his own right, oftentimes joining each other and Bird on All-Star and All-NBA teams as they added to their Hall of Fame legacies.

McHale showed gradual improvement in his first few seasons, increasing his scoring average to 13.6 and then 14.1 points per game in 1981-1982 and 1982-1983, respectively, while consistently shooting well above 50% from the field; moreover, he was named Second Team All-Defensive for the 1982-1983 season.  His breakout season came in 1983-1984, when he averaged 18.4 points (on 55.6% shooting) and 7.4 rebounds per game to win Sixth Man of the Year honors and earn the first of seven All-Star selections. The next season, McHale repeated as Sixth Man of the Year on 19.8 points (57.0% shooting) and 9.0 rebounds per game.

Starting in 1985-1986, when he averaged 21.3 points (57.4% shooting) and 8.1 rebounds per game, McHale would enter his prime as mostly a starter for the Celtics – he was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons, averaged at least 20 points and 8 rebounds per game on 54%+ shooting for five straights years, and was either First or Second Team All-Defensive for five years in a row, including three straight years on the First Team.  His career year came in 1986-1987 – McHale averaged career-highs of 26.1 points (on a league-leading and career-best 60.4% shooting) and 9.9 rebounds per game to earn his only First Team All-NBA selection. In 1987-1988, he again led the NBA in shooting at 60.4% while posting averages of 22.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

After thriving as a starter, McHale returned to more of a reserve role in the early 1990s, with his last All-Star season coming in 1990-1991 (18.4 points per game on 55.3% shooting with 7.1 rebounds per game).  Plagued by injuries towards the end of his career, he only played in 68, 56, and 71 games during his last three NBA seasons and started just 11 games in that span; his scoring numbers continued to decline and he only put up 10.7 points per game on career-worst 45.9% shooting to go with 5.0 rebounds per game in his final season in 1992-1993 before retiring at age 35.

During his first four NBA seasons with the Warriors, Parish likewise showed season-over-season improvement, ultimately averaging a double-double in his last two seasons with the team; his best season came in 1978-1979, when he averaged 17.2 points (49.9% shooting) and 12.1 rebounds per game.  As mentioned, Parish was traded to Boston in 1980, where he would blossom.

Starting in 1980-1981, Parish made seven straight All-Star teams while averaging 16+ points and 9+ rebounds per game on better than 54% shooting from the field.  Arguably his most productive seasons came between 1981-1984, when McHale had yet to enter his prime; in those three seasons, Parish averaged a double-double with 19+ points and 10+ rebounds per game – notably, in 1981-1982, he put up a career-high 19.9 points (on 54.2% shooting) with 10.8 rebounds per game and was named Second Team All-NBA.  After this stretch of brilliance, he declined to only 14.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in 1987-1988, but quickly bounced back with a Third Team All-NBA selection in 1988-1989: 18.6 points (57.0% shooting) and a career-high 12.5 rebounds per game. This was followed by two more All-Star seasons at the ages of 36 and 37, respectively:

Though Parish stayed with the Celtics until his age 40 season in 1993-1994, his skills began to diminish; at the same time, Bird and McHale were beset by injuries and would both retire by then.  Ahead of the 1994-1995 season, a 41-year-old Parish signed as a free agent with the Charlotte Hornets, though played sparingly in his two seasons with the team. Finally, at age 43, he played one final season with the Chicago Bulls before calling it a career.

On the whole, Parish had a much longer NBA career than his frontcourt mate McHale, though they both played with Boston for 13 overlapping years (in fact, Parish holds the all-time NBA record for most career regular season games played); in terms of per-game averages, McHale holds the edge in scoring (17.9 vs. 14.5 points per game) and assists (1.7 vs 1.4 assists per game) with slightly better shooting percentages, while Parish was the more accomplished rebounder (9.1 vs. 7.3 rebounds per game).  On the other hand, in part due to his longevity, Parish earned more All-Star nods (9x vs. 7x) and All-NBA selections (2x vs. 1x), though McHale was also a 6x All-Defensive selection and 2x Sixth Man of the Year. Looking at the advanced metrics, McHale has a slightly higher Player Efficiency Rating (PER), but Parish contributed more career Win-Shares, again no doubt aided by a 600+ games played differential. Together with teammates like Bird and Dennis Johnson, McHale and Parish are both Hall of Famers, the former inducted in 1999 followed by the latter in 2003.

Regular Season Statistics

Kevin McHalePlayerRobert Parish
13 (1980-1993)Seasons20 (1977-1997)
971Games Played1,611
17.9Points14.5
7.3Rebounds9.1
1.7Assists1.4
55.4%Field Goal %53.7%
79.8%Free Throw %72.1%
20.0PER19.2
113.0Win Shares147.0
7xAll-Star Games9x
1xAll-NBA2x
–MVP–
3xNBA Titles4x
–NBA Finals MVP–
6x All-Defensive, 2x Sixth Man, All-RookieOther Awards–
1999Hall of Fame Induction2003

Source: Basketball-Reference.com

During their 13 years playing together on the Celtics, McHale and Parish led Boston to the playoffs every single season, resulting in five trips to the NBA Finals (including four straight) and three championships; this included a trio of matchups with the rival Lakers, with Boston winning once in three tries:

Additionally, Parish also won a championship with the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen-led Chicago Bulls in 1996-1997, but played sparingly in his final NBA season.

Playoff Statistics

Kevin McHalePlayerRobert Parish
169Games Played184
18.8Points15.3
7.4Rebounds9.6
1.6Assists1.3
56.1%Field Goal %50.6%
78.8%Free Throw %72.2%
19.4PER16.6
20.7Win Shares15.6

Source: Basketball-Reference.com

Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; this is evidenced by McHale’s injury-plagued seasons in the early 1990s, as well as Parish’s elder statesman role in his 40s.  For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.”  The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.

Decade of Dominance

Kevin McHalePlayerRobert Parish
1981-1991Decade of Dominance1980-1990
762Games Played793
19.7Points17.7
8.0Rebounds10.4
1.9Assists1.8
56.4%Field Goal %55.5%
80.0%Free Throw %72.6%
20.5PER20.2
101.6Win Shares94.3

Source: Basketball-Reference.com

During their decades of dominance, which overlap for nine out of 10 seasons, the same general trends are valid – McHale scored more, shot more efficiently, and was a slightly better passer, while Parish was the better rebounder.  While their PERs are essentially equal, McHale accumulated more Win-Shares when you normalize to a similar amount of games played.

My Thoughts

When basketball fans look back and talk about the Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry of the 1980s, the focus is typically on Bird vs. Magic, and for good reason.  However, it should not be forgotten that there were many other great players on both sides – in today’s NBA, with “Big Threes” coming along like Kevin Garnett–Paul Pierce–Ray Allen and LeBron James–Dwyane Wade–Chris Bosh, the Bird-McHale-Parish triumvirate was one of the OG “Big Threes”.  Between Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, both were Celtics legends and Hall of Famers, but I have to give the slight edge to McHale – while Parish was an iron man and secured his place as the NBA’s all-time games played leader, McHale was not only one of the best sixth men ever, but stands among the greatest power forwards in league history with his mix of toughness and versatility on both the offensive and defensive ends.

Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:

Kevin McHale

As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.

Who was better - Kevin McHale or Robert Parish?
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