2000-01:
Played in 81 of 82 games, missing the 1/17/01 game vs. Minnesota due to a league suspension....Scored 5.3 ppg and grabbed 4.7 rpg, good for fourth on the team, and blocked 0.96 shots per game in 20 mpg....Connected on .490 of his shots, hitting 139-of-281 field goals....Scored a season-high and a Jazz career-high 15 points vs. Vancouver on 2/28/01 and finished the season with nine double-figure scoring games....Pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds at Vancover on 4/1/01 and led the team in rebounding on eight occasions....Blocked a season-high five shots twice (1/6/01 vs. Houston and 1/23/01 vs. Golden State)....Played in his 1,000th career game at Toronto on 12/19/00 and finished the season with 1,056 games played, good for 50th on the NBA's all-time list....Started first 33 games of the season before coming off the bench for the next two (1/5/01 and 1/6/01)....Returned to the starting lineup 1/9/01 vs. Indiana....Served a one-game suspension on 1/17/01 for pleading guilty to a class B misdemeanor in Salt Lake City for impersonating an officer and disorderly conduct.
1999-2000:
Logged 12 points and 14 rebounds in a 105-85 win over Phoenix on 4/6....Totaled 10 points and 11 rebounds in a 106-96 win in Atlanta on 12/18.
1998-99:
Totaled 12 points and a team-high 16 rebounds in a 99-98 overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings on 4/15
Posted 18 points (8-13 FG), a team-high 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals against the Sacramento Kings on 4/6
Registered 15 points (6-9 FG) and a game-high 17 rebounds in a 92-89 victory over the L.A. Lakers on 2/21
Recorded 10 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and 3 assists against the Sacramento Kings on 2/17
Made his Sonics debut, totaling 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, in a 92-86 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks on 2/5.
1997-98:
Totaled 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists against the Vancouver Grizzlies on 4/19
Registered 17 points (6-9 FG) and 6 rebounds in a 111-92 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on 1/26
Posted 19 points (8-10 FG, 3-3 FT) and a team-high 11 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers on 1/19
Recorded 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, in 19 minutes, in a 108-96 win over the Orlando Magic on 1/14
Totaled season-highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds and added 4 assists in a 103-92 win over the Dallas Mavericks on 1/8
Registered 18 points (9-14 FG) and 9 rebounds in a 106-90 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on 1/4
Scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds in a 94-80 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 1/2
Posted 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in a 92-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on 12/28
Recorded 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds against the Golden State Warriors on 12/12
Totaled 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in a 99-84 victory over the Golden State Warriors on 12/7....Registered 14 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and 4 assists in a 102-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks on 11/18....Posted 16 points (7-11 FG), 12 rebounds and 7 assists against the L.A. Lakers on 11/4.
1996-97:
The only Sacramento player to start all 82 games, 74 of them at center and eight at forward....Ranked third on the Kings with a career-high 12.5 ppg, second on the team and 16th in the NBA with 9.4 rpg and second on the team with a career-high 0.98 bpg. He also averaged a career-high 2.2 apg, and his 35.3 mpg ranked second on the club.
Polynice led the Kings in rebounding 33 times, assists seven times and scoring three times. He had double-doubles in 13 of 15 games during one stretch of late February and early March and tied his career-high with a team-leading 33 double-doubles overall. In that 15-game period he averaged 14.2 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.07 blocks and Sacramento went 9-6.
Polynice scored a season-high 25 points in a 91-87 loss to Atlanta on Nov. 7 and grabbed a season-high 21 rebounds in a 95-84 victory over Minnesota on Feb. 18. He scored in double figures 56 times, reached double figures in rebounds 37 times, had five or more assists seven times and blocked at least three shos four times.
1995-96:
Polynice was a key contributor as the Kings won their first playoff berth in a decade in 1995-96.
He scored a career-high 12.2 ppg, shooting .527 from the field to rank 14th in the NBA. More significantly, he led the Kings in rebounding at 9.4 rpg, ranking 17th in the NBA.
He started 80 of the 81 games he played, missing one game due to an NBA suspension. He scored in double figures 57 times, with 20 points or more 11 times and 32 double-doubles. He led the team in scoring nine times and rebounding 51 times, with season highs of 27 points at San Antonio on April 3 and 18 rebounds against the Clippers on April 14. He blocked a career-high six shots against Portland on Jan. 18.
He played a key role in the Kings' late playoff run, averaging 16.0 ppg and 9.8 rpg and shooting .557 in the final eight games of the season.
He was Sacramento's leading rebounder in the four-game playoff series against Seattle with 12.0 rpg, its second-leading scorer at 13.8 ppg and tied Brian Grant for the club lead in shotblocking at 1.75 per game.
1994-95:
Given major minutes for the second consecutive season, Polynice continued to put up the best numbers of his career. He started 81 games for the Kings in 1994-95 and contributed 10.8 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game. He ranked 18th in the NBA in rebounding and 10th in field-goal percentage (.544).
Polynice began the season starting at power forward but was then moved to center, a position for which he seemed better suited, when rookie Brian Grant was inserted as the starting forward. Polynice notched single-game highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds during the season and was instrumental in the Kings' improved defense. The team reduced its average points allowed from 106.9 per game in 1993-94 to 99.2 per game in 1994-95 and decreased its field-goal percentage allowed from .479 to .453. Sacramento improved its win total by 11 games but came up a single victory short of reaching the playoffs.
1993-94:
Given major playing time for the first time in his career, Polynice emerged as one of the NBA's best rebounders in 1993-94. Despite splitting the season between Detroit and Sacramento, he hauled in a career-high 11.9 rebounds per game to finish fifth in the NBA. And despite the fact that he played in only 68 games, Polynice's season total of 809 rebounds shattered his previous career best by more than 250.
The seven-year veteran opened the season with Detroit and averaged 12.3 boards in the Pistons' first 37 games. He then spent 12 games on the injured list in late January and early February with a small ligament tear in his left knee. On February 20 the Pistons traded Polynice to the Kings for Pete Chilcutt and two draft picks. With Sacramento, he appeared in 31 games and averaged 11.4 rebounds.
Overall, Polynice set a career scoring high with 11.6 points per game. He also shot .523 from the floor to rank 13th in the NBA. Among his season highlights, he totaled 18 points and a career-high 25 rebounds for Detroit against the Atlanta Hawks on December 8, and he had 23 points and 21 rebounds for Sacramento versus the Milwaukee Bucks on March 11.
1992-93:
The Clippers traded Polynice after the 1991-92 season to the Detroit Pistons for William Bedford and the draft rights to Don MacLean. (Los Angeles then traded MacLean's rights to the Washington Bullets.)
Now in his sixth NBA season, Polynice played the fewest games (67) of his career, averaging 7.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. He broke his right hand during a December 28 contest against the Cavaliers in Cleveland and missed the next 13 games.
When healthy, he scored in double figures 13 times and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 14 games. He had a season-high 27 points against the New Jersey Nets in the season finale on April 25, and he pulled down 19 rebounds against his old teammates, the Clippers, on November 17.
1991-92:
Polynice started in 65 of 76 appearances for the Clippers, averaging 8.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game. Mike Schuler started the season as coach but struggled. Larry Brown took over the helm and guided the Clippers to a 45-37 overall record, marking their first winning season since finishing at 43-39 in 1978-79, when the club was still in San Diego.
The record was good enough to get the Clippers to the postseason for the first time since the franchise moved to California in 1978. Polynice played sparingly as the Utah Jazz took the first-round series in five games, totaling 63 minutes, 16 points, and 18 rebounds in five appearances.
1990-91:
Polynice began the year with Seattle but was traded along with draft choices to the Los Angeles Clippers for Benoit Benjamin in February. He flourished with the Clippers, posting the finest of his first four NBA seasons. In 31 games after the trade, Polynice started 30 times and averaged 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in 36.5 minutes per game.
He finished the year with averages of 9.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 79 total appearances, ranking sixth in the NBA with a .560 field-goal percentage. He had season highs of 30 points on April 12 against the Denver Nuggets and 18 rebounds on April 21 against the Sacramento Kings.
1989-90:
Polynice made his first career start on February 24 against the Golden State Warriors and proceeded to start in the Sonics' next six games. In that seven-game span he averaged 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting .458 from the floor.
For the season, Polynice posted averages of 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and led Seattle with a .540 field-goal percentage. He scored a season-high 18 points in a game against the Jazz at Utah on March 15.
1988-89:
The Sonics added Michael Cage to their front line in 1988-89, a move that meant reduced minutes for Polynice. Although he played in 80 games, he saw the court for only 10.4 minutes per contest, and his averages dipped to 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. When he did shoot, he was accurate, hitting at a .506 clip from the field.
Polynice scored a season-high 12 points twice and led the club in rebounding once, with 7 boards on November 22 against the Trail Blazers at Portland. He surged in the playoffs, averaging 7.1 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting .610 from the floor in eight postseason games. The Sonics beat the Houston Rockets in an opening-round series before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
1987-88:
Olden Polynice holds the dubious distinction of having been traded for Scottie Pippen-before either player had played an NBA game. Polynice had elected to forgo his senior season at the University of Virginia after averaging 16.1 points as a junior in 1985-86. He played the 1986-87 season in Italy, averaging 17.3 points for Rimini of the Italian League, before declaring himself eligible for the 1987 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls then made him the eighth overall pick in the draft but promptly traded his rights, along with draft choices, to the Seattle SuperSonics for Pippen.
Both players performed well during their rookie seasons. Pippen averaged 7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game, while Polynice played less (13.2 minutes per game) but still managed 4.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. He played in all five of Seattle's postseason games, totaling 10 points in 44 minutes as the Sonics lost to the Denver Nuggets in a first-round series.
COLLEGE:
As a freshman, started at center on a University of Virginia team that made the NCAA Final Four in 1984....As a junior he averaged 16.1 ppg and 8.0 rpg while shooting .572 from the field. After his junior campaign he opted to play in Italy, after which he entered the NBA Draft in 1987. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the eighth overall pick but was then traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for forward Scottie Pippen, who had also just been drafted.
