Getty Steve Nash (left)
During an appearance on “The Odd Couple” podcast with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker on August 27, retired NBA player and NBA analyst Olden Polynice told a story of a time that Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving confronted his head coach Steve Nash about the two league Most Valuable Player awards he won over his mentor, Kobe Bryant.
“One of the reasons why there are issues between him and Kyrie Irving is because of a statement he made during a party at Steve Nash’s house,” Polynice said. “Okay, in front of everybody, Kyrie said, ‘You need to give those MVP trophies back to Kobe. You didn’t deserve them.’”
Polynice’s claims were met with a firestorm of criticism, claiming his story was made up. However, In an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports Polynice doubled down on his story and said he heard the story from a “reliable” source.
“You know, I stand by what I said, and so if they don’t want to admit to it, whatever, that’s fine. But I got it from a VERY reliable source,” Polynice said to Scoop B.
“Regardless of what they’re trying to sell, or it came from a site — that’s not how it happened. I got it from somebody who was actually around those two individuals when it happened so, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Kyrie Irving Update via @BallySports.
NBA vet @OldenPolynice1 gives clarity to what happened from his sourcing between Kyrie & Steve Nash at a party.
His story told on @Chris_Broussard & @RobParkerFS1‘s show became a viral sensation & even got @KDTrey5 talking.
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Durant Rips Polynice for Kyrie, Nash Story
One of Polynice’s biggest critics was Irving’s Nets co-star Kevin Durant. After catching wind of the story that Polynice told, Durant responded to the former Los Angles Clippers big man, saying that his story was a ‘generational lie’, which prompted a war of words between Polynice and the Nets star.
“Lol, if that’s a generational lie then we are all in trouble,” Polynice responded.
“People may not like the truth, but it’s always coming. Like PJ Tucker said, “I Love you”. You are still one of the best ever. Glad to know I still have a little impact out there. KD responded to me… F yeah !!!”
Durant then had an additional rebuttal for Polynice’s claims that his story was true.
“There was no truth in what you said. U have no impact on anything Olden. Enjoy retirement lol,” the Nets star responded.
Important Season Looming for Kyrie
Kyrie has an important season coming up as he is currently on an expiring contract that will make him a free agent next summer. Irving is looking to improve on a 2022 season where he averaged 27.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game.
After a rollercoaster season in 2022, he will need to have a big season, to prove that he is a max contract player. Whether Polynice’s story is true or not remains unknown. But the fact remains that for Irving to have a big year, he and Nash need to be on the same page.
The Nets need to make major adjustments in 2022 after a season where they came in as the title favorites and ended in a first-round sweep. Still having aspirations of delivering the Nets their first NBA title, it will be interesting to see what changes they make.