Celtics icon Robert Parish pumps brakes on Brad Stevens praise: 'Win something first'

We have officially reached the saturation point of the Brad Stevens love fest.

The Boston coach has been heaped with praise for guiding the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals while playing much of the season and all of the playoffs without Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving.

Some think the accolades are too much, including LeBron James who told NESN that the acclaim for Stevens is “a little bit overblown.” For the record, James said that before he and his Cleveland Cavaliers got owned by the Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Robert Parish: Call me when Brad Stevens has rings

Now there’s Celtics on Celtics crime. Hall of Famer Robert Parish, who won three NBA titles with Boston alongside Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, isn’t buying the hype for Stevens. His beef is that Stevens, 41, hasn’t won multiple NBA championships.

“I think he gets a little too much praise, but I like what he’s doing,” Parish said on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “They’re giving him all the love like he won three or four championships. Come on now. Win something first, with all the love he’s getting.

“Now granted, don’t get me wrong, he’s a solid coach. I’ll give him that. The love he’s getting from the media, you’d think the Celtics won two or three championships. You would think.”

Not Parish’s first controversial Celtics take

That is a hot take, indeed, coming from a Celtics icon in the midst of a red-hot Boston playoff run. It’s not the first time Parish has taken on a controversial Celtics opinion.

Parish told reporters ahead of Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement in February that he believed Pierce to be the best offensive player in team history. Again, Parish won three championship playing alongside Larry Bird.

Parish anointing Stevens as a “solid coach” right now while calling him out for zero rings when he’s had the Celtics ahead of schedule at almost every juncture of his five-year tenure is borderline absurd.

It’s also candid and entertaining and a welcome addition to the NBA playoffs dialogue.

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