3 NBA legends you forgot played for the Golden State Warriors

2. Robert Parish

“The Chief” is best-known for his time as a key piece of the Boston Celtics’ dynasty in the 1980’s. But Parish was actually drafted eighth overall in 1976 by the Golden State Warriors out of Centenary College, and he spent his four NBA seasons with them.

In each of his last two seasons with Golden State, Parish averaged at least 17 points and more than 10 rebounds per game. As a 25-year old in 1978-79, he averaged 17.2 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. The latter number would stand as the second-best average of his 21-year NBA career.

The Celtics effectively set the course for their dynasty on June, 9, 1980, acquiring Parish and the 1980 first-round pick that would become Kevin McHale from the Warriors for 1980 first-round picks that became Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown. That became an all-time one-sided trade in NBA history, and it surely left Warriors’ fans to wonder what might have been if they’d had Parish and McHale. Parish and McHale teamed with Larry Bird to become a legendary frontcourt for Boston.

Parish’s ended his career with a token championship ring on Michael Jordan’s coattails in 1997. But it all started in Golden State, before a change of scenery put him on a Hall of Fame trajectory.