Former NBA center Olden Polynice believes the fundamentals of basketball have not changed despite the league’s evolution toward perimeter-oriented play and greater emphasis on spacing.
Speaking with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Polynice pushed back on the idea that traditional big-man traits such as physicality, rebounding and interior scoring have become less valuable in the modern NBA.
“Nothing,” Polynice said when asked what core traits from his era are missing from today’s bigs. “Because the fallacy is that this game has changed. No—the rules have changed. The game is the same: put the ball in the basket.”
Polynice, who played 15 NBA seasons, pointed specifically to Isaiah Hartenstein as an example of a modern center whose role he believes resembles what traditional bigs brought to the floor.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful to him, but I’d put my game against his game anytime,” Polynice said. “I’m 61 right now and I’d give him a headache!”
The former center argued that his offensive skill set would have translated to the current NBA, noting that he had a jump hook in addition to his ability to rebound and defend.
“He’s a non-shooter. I had a jump hook! So I knew how to play the game,” Polynice said.
Offensive rebounding was particularly important to Polynice throughout his career. He averaged 5.3 offensive rebounds per game during the 1990-91 season, ranking among the NBA’s leaders, and finished his career with 6,209 total rebounds across 1,058 games.
Polynice also rejected the idea that previous generations of NBA players would automatically struggle in the modern game because of changes in pace and spacing. He instead argued that players from different eras should be judged within the context of the rules and conditions they faced.
“Stop using 2026 eyes or 2025 eyes to judge the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and so on,” Polynice said. “You’re using what you have today to criticize people in the past, and that’s not fair.”
The former No. 8 overall pick also recalled how he adapted after being drafted in 1987 and traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in a deal involving Scottie Pippen.
Seattle already had Dale Ellis, Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel, all coming off 20-point seasons. Polynice quickly realized that establishing himself as another high-volume scorer was not the best route to consistent playing time.
“I went, ‘If I want to play, I better make a decision here. I need to figure out what to do to get on the floor,’” Polynice recalled.
His answer was defense, rebounding and efficient interior scoring.
“I shot over 50%, and my offensive rebounding was the key,” Polynice said. “I’m going to do what I do best: go get that damn offensive rebound and put it back.”
Polynice’s career ultimately spanned 15 seasons and included stops with the SuperSonics, Clippers, Pistons, Kings, Jazz, Nuggets, Cavaliers and others. His comments reflect a broader argument that while the modern NBA has changed dramatically in terms of tactics and rules, the value of physicality, rebounding and the ability to score around the basket remains.
