The J-Notes
Fansided

Antoine Carr, Olden Polynice Do Twitter Battle Over Collector Card

Clint Peterson|

Former Utah Jazzmen Antoine Carr and Olden Polynice do battle at the rim in 1993, then again on Twitter in 2015

Former Utah Jazzmen Antoine Carr and Olden Polynice took to Twitter to settle a dispute that was featured on an NBA collector card from 1993. The NBA HOOPS card from the 1993-94 season would seem to depict Olden Polynice blocking an Antoine Carr dunk attempt, which is at the heart of the Twitter scuffle.

“O.P.” wasted no time responding, and a truly awesome string of tweets from the pair of dynamic NBA bigs from yesteryear ensued.

An epic battle of NBA big men is relived on a modern social media and we not only got to witness it, but participate in it. How amazingly awesome is that?!

More from Jazz News

Try as I might, there was no video to be found on the internet. However, the mystery shot doesn’t end there. There are clues to be found if we dig a little.

Only one game happened head-to-head between Antoine “Big Dawg” Carr and Olden “O.P.” Polynice when they wore those uniforms for the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons. It was played November 13, 1993 in Detroit.

Olden Polynice was a starter for Pistons coach Don Chaney, and averaged 13.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.0 block per game for Detroit before being traded to the Sacramento Kings where he’d spend the next four seasons before one for the Seattle Supersonics, then joining the Utah Jazz for two years from 1999-2001.

An epic battle of NBA big men is relived on a modern social media and we not only got to witness it, but participate in it. How amazingly awesome is that?!

Antoine Carr was a beloved big man in Utah from 1994-1998, including playing a key part in the Jazz’s two NBA Finals runs, joining the Jazz the season after the infamous pic that began tonight’s battle.

Polynice played 29 minutes on the night in question, but was held far below his season averages on this night, with only 6 points and 7 rebounds. Big Dawg is listed as playing 7:00 minutes, and obviously ran into Olden at the rim at least once.

What happened next is what’s at the crux of the matter, Antoine Carr claiming a dunk, while Olden Polynice claims he got his 1.0 block per game, coming against the Spurs’ backup big man.

I have bad news for you, Olden. It doesn’t look good for the pythons, man. Here’s the tale of the tape:

Big Dawg did indeed score. One basket. And by his account it was against O.P.

Antoine Carr vs Olden Polynice, circa 1993

Meanwhile, unless you pissed off The Palace stat-keepers, you didn’t log a block that evening, O.P.

Antoine Carr vs Olden Polynice, circa 1993

It would only be fair to note that although Antoine Carr won the battle — twice now — Olden Polynice’s Pistons won the war that night, 95-86.

More from The J-Notes

You can catch up with Antoine Carr on KJZZ Saturday evening in the re-broadcast of a special that focuses on Where Are They Now former Utah Jazzmen.

"SALT LAKE CITY (February 25, 2015) – KJZZ 14 Television will reconnect with the lives of four Utah Jazz alumni – Antoine Carr, Tom Chambers, Adrian Dantley and Greg Ostertag – for its “Where Are They Now” special airing at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3.The 30-minute show will be rebroadcast at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7.KJZZ broadcasts on channel 14 over the air and for Dish and DirecTV subscribers and on Comcast channels 3 (SD) and 657 (HD)."

Or watch it on Facebook here.

Olden Polynice is very active in multiple charitable causes, can often be heard on radio programs addressing issues and breaking down basketball, as well as founded and runs a basketball program for youth: Next Star.

Both willingly interact with fans on Twitter regularly, a treat for fans of the Jazz and basketball.

If you want one of the NBA HOOPS cards featured in the battle, there are at least 32 documented cards listed as surviving in current collections.

Home/Jazz News