Olden Polynice says he got underage Kobe into a club at All-Star Weekend: ‘That began our friendship’

Former NBA big man Olden Polynice shared an interesting story of when he helped a young Kobe Bryant get into a club during All-Star Weekend in 1997.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend, who was a rookie during the 1996-97 season, was not old enough at the time to get into a club.

“All-Star Weekend, I pull up to the club,” Polynice said. “I’m not Kobe Bryant.”

Polynice was asked what city the All-Star festivities were taking place in, and he was unable to recall. However, he said it was during the 1996-97 season. The All-Star Game was played in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1996-97 season.

“I pull up, you know, limo – I’m balling,” Polynice said. “In the moment, I’m bigger than Kobe Bryant – in the moment.”

Polynice explained the dynamic that he was a veteran at the time while Bryant was only a rookie.

“Can’t get in the club, he’s standing outside – sad, puppy eyes,” Polynice said of Bryant. “Pull up, dear friend of mine Curtis West, who – rest in peace – and another friend of mine we walk up. ‘Hey man, what’s up da-da-da.’ We shake, dap it up. ‘So, what’s going on? You going in?’ He said, ‘They not letting me in. They said I’m too young.’”

Polynice continued.

“I get him in,” he said. “I get Kobe in the party. He was so happy.”

Polynice shared that that was the start of his friendship with Bryant, and it’s pretty awesome that he was able to help out the Lakers legend when he was a youngster.

“That was the beginning of our friendship,” he said. “Because he didn’t remember me from when he was seven. That began our friendship. So, we always cool. Whenever he saw me, it was always love.”

Polynice played for a long time in the NBA, as he began his career in the 1987-88 season and last played in the 2003-04 season. The big man played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics, Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings during his career.

Polynice’s gesture to get Bryant into the club came during the Lakers legend’s rookie season, and Bryant went on to have one of the greatest careers in NBA history in Los Angeles.

During his playing career, Bryant averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from beyond the arc. He will forever be one of the most important figures in Lakers history, as he led the franchise to five NBA titles and won two NBA Finals MVP awards.

Unfortunately, Bryant tragically passed away in a helicopter crash back in January of 2020. He’s been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for all of his accomplishments as a player.