Robert Parish is one of the most decorated players in the history of the NBA. A huge part of the success that the Boston Celtics enjoyed during the 1980s, Parish retired as a 4-time NBA champion and a 9-time NBA All-Star. He was no stranger to being on teams with the greatest to ever play the game, winning 3 of his titles in the same team as Larry Bird before spending a season as part of Michael Jordan’s 1996-97 Chicago Bulls team that also won the championship.
The approaches in both places were vastly different, with Michael Jordan being the undisputed authority in the team during their championship runs. MJ was famous for holding his teammates to a very high standard and sometimes demeaning and criticizing them if he felt they weren’t up to scratch. While this brought the organization great success, it also rubbed a few people the wrong way, including Parish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52EQ7OLhzTE
“He [Michael Jordan] bullied all those guys. You know what bothered me about that? They didn’t have the b***s to say anything about the teammates. There’s no way we took that from Larry.”
Michael Jordan tried the same heavy-handed trash-talking with Parish when he was a part of the Bulls, but the Celtics veteran was not ready to lie down and take it. He explained in a different interview how he informed MJ that as a former winner and All-Star, he wasn’t in awe of Jordan like some others on the team were (via Bleacher Report).
“In one of his first practices with the Bulls, Parish botched one of the plays and was amused to find Jordan jawing at him just inches from his face.
“‘I told him, “I’m not as enamored with you as these other guys. I’ve got some rings too,”’ Parish recalled. ‘At that point he told me, “I’m going to kick your ass.” I took one step closer and said, “No, you really aren’t.” After that he didn’t bother me.’”
While all this is not that surprising to hear, it cannot be denied that MJ’s methods delivered results. The one season that Parish was a part of the Bulls, he won his 4th and final ring as the team beat the Utah Jazz in the finals to claim a championship. Parish might not be the biggest fan of MJ, but at the end of the day, all Jordan cared about was winning.
