Olden Polynice Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Olden Polynice
Personal information
Polynice in 2018
Born	(1964-11-21) November 21, 1964 (age 60) Port-au-Prince, Haiti
High school	All Hallows (The Bronx, New York)
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College	Virginia (1983–1986)
NBA Draft	1987 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Pro career	1986–2006
Career history
1986–1987	Hamby Rimini
1987–1991	Seattle SuperSonics
1991–1992	Los Angeles Clippers
1992–1994	Detroit Pistons
1994–1998	Sacramento Kings
1999	Seattle SuperSonics
1999–2001	Utah Jazz
2001–2002	Las Vegas Slam
2002–2003	Grand Rapids Hoops
2003	Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs
2003	Gary Steelheads
2003	Los Angeles Clippers
2004	Long Beach Jam
2004–2005	Michigan Mayhem
2005–2006	Los Angeles Aftershock

Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-ACC (1986)

Career NBA statistics
Points	8,265 (7.8 ppg)
Rebounds	7,110 (6.7 rpg)
Personal fouls	2,835 (2.7 pfpg)

Olden Polynice (born November 21, 1964) is a former professional basketball player from Haiti. He played the center position for 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was known for being a strong rebounder and played for several teams, including the Seattle SuperSonics and Sacramento Kings.

Basketball Career
Personal Life
Career Statistics
- NBA
  - Regular season
  - Playoffs
- College
See also

Basketball Career

Polynice had a long and interesting career, playing in college, the NBA, and even in Italy.

College Years at Virginia

After graduating from All Hallows High School in the Bronx, New York, Polynice played college basketball for the University of Virginia.

As a freshman in the 1983–84 season, he helped his team, the UVA Cavaliers, make a surprise run to the 1984 Final Four. The Final Four is the last stage of the big national college basketball tournament. His team beat several higher-ranked teams to get there. In the Final Four, they narrowly lost to the University of Houston in overtime, just missing a chance to play for the national championship.

By his junior year in 1985–86, Polynice was recognized as one of the best players in his conference and was named to the first team All-ACC.

Professional Career

After three years in college, Polynice played one season in Italy. He was then chosen by the Chicago Bulls in the 1987 NBA draft. However, in a famous trade, the Bulls immediately traded him to the Seattle SuperSonics for another player named Scottie Pippen.

Polynice became a valuable player in the NBA. At 6 feet 11 inches tall, he was a great rebounder, which means he was skilled at grabbing the ball after a missed shot. Teams often wanted him for his strong presence near the basket.

Over his 15 years in the NBA, he played for the SuperSonics, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz. He consistently ranked among the league's best in getting offensive rebounds. He retired from the NBA in 2004.

Life After the NBA

After he stopped playing, Polynice stayed involved with basketball. He coached a team called the Long Beach Breakers. He also worked as a TV color commentator, helping to explain the game during broadcasts for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs.

Today, he runs the Polynice Basketball Organization with his nephews, helping to teach the game to young players.

Personal Life

Olden Polynice was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In 1993, he went on a hunger strike to bring attention to the problems the people of Haiti were facing at the time. This was a peaceful way to show he cared and wanted to help his home country.

Career Statistics

These tables show how Olden Polynice performed during his career in the NBA and in college.

NBA

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

*	Led the league

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1987–88	Seattle	82	0	13.2	.465	.000	.639	4.0	.4	.4	.3	4.1
1988–89	Seattle	80	0	10.4	.506	.000	.593	2.6	.3	.5	.4	2.9
1989–90	Seattle	79	7	13.7	.540	.500	.475	3.8	.2	.3	.3	4.6
1990–91	Seattle	48	0	20.0	.545	–	.588	5.6	.3	.5	.4	8.3
1990–91	L.A. Clippers	31	30	36.5	.579	.000	.572	9.1	.8	.5	.4	12.3
1991–92	L.A. Clippers	76	65	24.1	.519	.000	.622	7.1	.6	.6	.3	8.1
1992–93	Detroit	67	18	19.4	.490	.000	.465	6.2	.4	.5	.3	7.3
1993–94	Detroit	37	36	36.5	.547	.000	.457	12.3	.6	.6	1.0	13.1
1993–94	Sacramento	31	29	33.9	.484	.000	.556	11.4	.6	.6	1.0	9.8
1994–95	Sacramento	81	81	31.3	.544	1.000	.639	9.0	.8	.6	.6	10.8
1995–96	Sacramento	81	80	30.1	.527	.333	.601	9.4	.7	.6	.8	12.2
1996–97	Sacramento	82	82*	35.3	.457	.000	.562	9.4	2.2	.6	1.0	12.5
1997–98	Sacramento	70	25	20.8	.459	.000	.452	6.3	1.5	.5	.6	7.9
1998–99	Seattle	48	47	30.9	.472	1.000	.309	8.9	.9	.4	.6	7.7
1999–00	Utah	82	79	22.2	.510	.500	.311	5.5	.5	.4	1.0	5.3
2000–01	Utah	81	79	20.0	.496	.000	.262	4.7	.4	.3	1.0	5.3
2003–04	L.A. Clippers	2	0	6.0	–	–	–	1.0	.5	.5	.0	.0
Career		1,058	658	23.5	.505	.192	.535	6.7	.7	.5	.6	7.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1988	Seattle	5	0	8.8	.455	–	.000	1.6	.0	.6	.0	2.0
1989	Seattle	8	0	20.3	.610	–	.538	7.8	.1	.8	.5	7.1
1992	L.A. Clippers	5	0	12.6	.583	–	.333	3.6	.4	.2	.2	3.2
1996	Sacramento	4	4	35.3	.522	1.000	.667	12.0	.8	.3	1.8	13.8
2000	Utah	10	10	26.0	.538	–	.500	6.6	.5	.3	.8	5.9
2001	Utah	5	5	20.0	.533	.000	.700	3.8	.2	.2	.4	7.8
Career		37	19	20.8	.547	.500	.543	6.0	.3	.4	.6	6.4

College

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1983–84	Virginia	33	26.2	.551	.588	5.6	0.6	0.1	0.5	7.7
1984–85	Virginia	32	34.2	.603	.599	7.6	0.5	0.4	1.1	13.0
1985–86	Virginia	30	35.8	.572	.637	8.0	0.5	0.3	1.1	16.1
Career		95	31.9	.578	.612	7.0	0.5	0.3	0.9	12.1

Olden Polynice facts for kids

Contents