Hall of Famer Robert Parish is the NBA’s all time leader in games played at 1,611. So, what’s his secret to longevity? 4x champ John Salley believes Parish was able to accomplish the record thanks to drinking whisky.
(Via Ted Simmons- Whisky Advocate):
John Salley has a story to tell. The four-time NBA champion has played alongside Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and starred in movies with Will Smith and Whoopi Goldberg. So imagine him cutting a cigar, pouring you each a whisky, and taking you back in time with any number of tales, like the one he’s sharing now.
He’s describing a game he played against the Boston Celtics in 1986, his first year with the Detroit Pistons, in which he was tasked with guarding Robert Parish. After the veteran Parish beat Salley down the court, Pistons head coach Chuck Daly had a word with the young rookie. “It was the one time I had a lapse. They’re the Celtics,” Salley explains, “you don’t have time to lapse.”
After the game, which the Pistons lost, Salley was unsure what to do with his evening. He roamed the hotel and eventually landed at the bar—where he sees none other than Robert Parish. “He’s smoking a cigarette and drinking scotch,” Salley continues. “As I walk around the other side, I go, ‘You smoke cigarettes and drink scotch and you beat me downcourt?’ He goes, ‘You got to learn to pace yourself, young fella. Now get the f— away from me, rookie.’”
Salley immediately went upstairs to call his brother and relay the story, but there is a deeper lesson after all these years—Parish played for 21 seasons, after all. “Whatever he was doing, he was right. I guess,” Salley says.
