Jan. 17, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET
Today in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame Boston big man Robert Parish put up the 20,000th point of his storied NBA career with the team in 1992. At the time of his remarkable feat, he became only the 16th player in NBA history to reach the rarefied scoring air.
The legendary big was dealt to the Celtics from the Golden State Warriors in 1980 after four seasons with Golden State in what is often considered one of the most uneven trades in Association history. Parish would win three titles with Boston in 1981, 1984 and 1986 as part of the so-called original Big Three of himself, forward Larry Bird and fellow frontcourt resident Kevin McHale. Regarded as one of the greatest frontcourts ever assembled, Parish was the anchor that held it all together. The feat would come in a 98-95 home win at the Boston Garden against the Philadelphia 76ers towards the end of Parish’s tenure with the Celtics (he would play two more seasons with Boston).
The Louisiana native would score 14 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, and 2 blocks in 36 minutes of floor time to set the career milestone — and it wouldn’t be his last.
Birthdays
It is also the birthday of Tyler Zeller, born this day in 1990 in Visalia, California. The North Carolina alum (brother of fellow NBAers Cody Zeller, Luke Zeller, and nephew of Al Eberhard) was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 17th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. He played two seasons with the Cavs before again traded him to the Celtics as part of a three-team trade. Zeller played three seasons with the Celtics, averaging 7.1 points, 4 boards, and an assist per game.
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It is also the birthday of Dirk Minniefield, born today in 1961 in Lexington, Kentucky. An alum of his hometown Kentucky, Minniefield would play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, and Golden State Warriors. He then joined the Celtics as a free agent in 1987 for what would be the final stop of his NBA career. He appeared in 61 games for Boston, recording 3.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game with the franchise.
Historic milestones
Finally, it was on this date in 2021 that Boston set the record for the most 3-point attempts in a regular-season game for the franchise with 46.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, they only made 7 of them, a major factor behind the team losing the contest to the New York Knicks 105-75.