The standard of fitness in today’s NBA is the highest it has ever been. Nowadays, players take care of their bodies throughout the year, eat right, and try to keep themselves away from ‘bad habits’ as much as possible. However, it wasn’t always the same.
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During an appearance on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast, John Salley recalled several stories of NBA legends enjoying cigars and drinking scotch and beer before and after games.
As Salley was discussing the problems of guarding Daryl Dawkins, the conversation shifted to how Scott’s podcast co-host had once seen Arvydas Sabonis smoking a cigarette before a game. This prompted Salley to digress and mention how he was shocked as well to see Pat Riley smoke cigarettes.
He also mentioned how there used to be beer in the locker room and many players would pop one open to relax.
The most shocking sight for Salley, however, was when he saw Celtics legend Robert Parish enjoying a cigarette with scotch right after he beat Salley’s team in a tiring game.
Salley said, “I’m a rookie and I’m so happy to play against the Celtics, but we lose. We’re staying at the hotel…and I see Parish sitting there at the bar with a scotch, one cube, and a cigarette and I was like, ‘You smoke and drink scotch and you beat me up and down the court like that?’”
Parish advised him to learn to pace himself. But that was acceptable back then and it was common to spot players indulging in smoking and/or drinking. It’s impressive that despite not being very serious about their health and fitness, some of the NBA legends were able to accomplish so much.
Salley himself was no different as he used to enjoy smoking cigars, sometimes on the Bulls team bus with coach Phil Jackson. But Parish’s smoking habits might surprise many, considering his impact on the NBA floor.
Robert Parish’s accomplishments
The 7’1 center was known by his moniker, the Chief. He was picked eighth in the 1976 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. After four years with the GSW, he moved to the Boston Celtics and that’s where his career took off. He won four NBA titles with two different teams. The 1981, 1984, and 1986 titles with the Celtics and the 1997 title with the Chicago Bulls.
Parish made nine All-Star appearances in his career. He was also a member of both the 50th and the 75th Anniversary Team. His jersey #00 was retired by the Celtics in 1998 and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
In his 21-year-long career, he played for four different franchises, accumulating 23,334 points and 14,715 rebounds with an average of 14.5 and 9.1 per game respectively.
Having such a long career and being so accomplished seems even more impressive when we consider that he was most likely a habitual smoker and a regular drinker.
