Olden Polynice

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Olden Polynice (born November 21, 1964 in Port-au-Prince, Haïti) is a retired professional basketball center.

Polynice played with the Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After graduating from All Hallows High School in the Bronx, he played college basketball at the University of Virginia. After graduating, he was selected 8th overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 1987 NBA Draft. Polynice was traded for Scottie Pippen, before either player had ever stepped on an NBA court.

In 15 NBA seasons, Polynice averaged 23.5 minutes, 7.8 points, and 6.7 rebounds per game, with a respectable career PER of 13.2. At 6'11", Olden was often signed by teams in need of a good rebounder and tough interior player, and Polynice ranks among the NBA's all-time leaders in offensive rebounds. Polynice retired from the NBA in 2004 after a brief return to the Clippers that season. He played 2004-05 for the minor professional Los Angeles Aftershock.

In 2000, Polynice was involved in an incident in which Salt Lake City police arrested him at a routine traffic stop for impersonating an officer and disorderly conduct. He would eventually plead guilty to the offense (a class B misdemeanor), and served a one-game suspension during the 2000-01 season.

Olden has a son, Eniel Polynice, that plays basketball for the University of Mississippi Rebels. Only a freshman, Eniel had a career high of 15 points which he recorded on November 30th, 2006 against the University of New Orleans. Eniel is listed as a guard.



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