Is current-day basketball better than the past? This particular discourse should be completely shrouded in subjectivity. The game has changed, so have the rules; new age athletes eat better, train better and on average have better numbers.
Advertisement
However, one thing the older era of NBA players might have over today’s stars is their knack for partying. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is an entirely different conversation.
Take former NBA player Olden Polynice for example. The Haitian legend experienced the highs of the nightlife of an NBA star, which at times could come back to bite him in the behind. There were more than a few occasions that Polynice could talk about, stories of parties going awry he could share. But this particular night with Mike Tyson was a nightmare he will never forget.
“The whole team is partying,” Polynice said on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast. “Mike Tyson is in there. Mike’s talking to some girl, and we’re over here talking to some women. All of a sudden, pop! Shots ring,” the former LA Clippers star said.
Polynice didn’t expect that a night out meant for fun would turn into an outing of terror. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there.
“The girl that Mike was talking to got hit in the leg,” Polynice revealed. “We all take off running,” he added. Of course, the situation itself wasn’t funny. But, looking back at that night, Polynice doesn’t think he has ever seen a group of huge NBA players were ever this scared.
“The thing that makes this funny is watching all these NBA dudes running, and we were sprinting. We were Usain Bolt,” Polynice proclaimed.
In comparison to the other NBA players who were there, Polynice had a great view of what took place. It turns out, the 15-year veteran didn’t even join his comrades in their efforts to escape. He took a different means to ensure safety.
“I just dove into the corner. I’m not running. I figured out what was going on, and dude took off,” he said.
Although that woman did get hit, there weren’t any other serious injuries on that night. So, Polynice can share that story without feeling an incredible heavy weight on his shoulders.
