Olden Polynice on when he realized how beloved Michael Jordan was: "First thing she says is 'Why did you hit Michael?'"

Michael Jordan was arguably the biggest superstar in basketball history. Not only did MJ dominate the NBA, but he was also the most recognizable basketball player.

On the court, Mike was an unstoppable offensive machine whom many opponents swore had no weaknesses. Because of that, some resorted to intimidating him physically. One of those who tried doing that was Haitian center Olden Polynice .

"We couldn't stop him the traditional way," said Polynice. "So we had to do whatever we had to do."

Olden's mama scolded him for hitting MJ

Polynice then recalled a game where he fouled Mike so hard that he drew an ejection. He succeeded in foiling Jordan's attempt to score on that occasion, not only did he get thrown out of the game, but he also got scolded by his mother.

Olden has always been close to his mom, calling her after every game he played while he was in the NBA. His mother left him and his siblings in Haiti when he was five to work in the U.S. with her husband. Since they became together again as a family in America, he's made sure to keep in touch with her every day.

"I would call my mom after every game, and I did that night, too," he added. "First thing she says is, 'Why did you hit Michael?' I said, 'Wait a minute, I'm your son.' She said, 'Yeah. But that's Michael.' That's how big he was."

Polynice says MJ would have won more titles

Interestingly, Polynice was drafted by Jordan's Bulls 8th overall in the 1987 NBA Draft. But he was traded on draft night to the Seattle SuperSonics for Scottie Pippen. That trade resulted in six championships for the Bulls, but Olden once said MJ could have won more with him instead of Pippen .

"I didn't have migraines early on in my career," claimed the eighth pick. "I've never had migraines like Scottie had. So there were a couple of years they really could've beaten Detroit, and they didn't…I say at least three more. (Michael Jordan) He would've been knocking on Bill Russell's door."

Polynice played 15 seasons in the NBA. He never got the chance to play with MJ or win an NBA championship. However, he found out the hard way how beloved Jordan was when his mom rebuked him for hitting the GOAT.

Related: "Frequently it was heated" — Steve Kerr claims Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's conversations in practice usually had tension