Well, technically, the original Big Three had two. But Robert Parish was the bigger of he and Kevin McHale, so he gets the nod there.
Meanwhile, there's no question who the dominant big man of the Big Three's current incarnation is. Although he's a forward (and Parish a center), Kevin Garnett has been one of the league's top big men over the past decade and especially since he arrived in Beantown..
The question, then, is which of these two stalwarts you would rather have in his prime?
Both played — or in Garnett's case, still play — a fairly similar style game. Parish and Garnett both possess uncanny touch on mid-range jump shots, and were extremely athletic for their 7-foot frames.
Most notable, however, is that a hallmark of both of their games is ferocious defense made possible by their length and speed. Parish never made an All-Defensive team, but averaged nearly 1.5 blocks and a steal per game over his career. Garnett, on the other hand, has been named to the All-Defensive Team 12 times, averaging 1.5 blocks and nearly 1.5 steals per game for his career.
Parish was incredibly durable, playing 21 seasons and a record 1,611 games in the league. He was named to the All-Star team nine times, had one appearance on both the All-NBA Second and Third Teams and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
His number, 00, was retired by the Celtics after winning three of his four championships with the team. During arguably his prime years, from 1980-84, Parish never averaged below 17.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game — averaging a double-double in four of those five seasons with as many as 19.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
Garnett, on the other hand, is still playing, so it is hard to look at his career with the same perspective as Parish. But he has also proved very durable, having just finished his 17th season. A 14-time All-Star and one-time NBA champion, Garnett has been named to an All-NBA Team nine times — four First teams, three Second teams and two Third teams.
He was too young to be named one of the 50 Greatest Players, but he surely will find himself among them eventually. His number hasn't been raised to any rafters yet, but once he retires it's only a matter of time. During his prime years from 2002-06, Garnett led the league in rebounding four straight seasons with a per-game average never below 12.7 and spiking as high as 13.9. He also poured in at least 21.8 points per game during those years, and scored as many as 24.2 per game.
With all that in mind, who was the better player in his prime?
