[1] Pollard was born in Murray, Utah, and grew up in San Diego and Kennewick, Washington.

[2][3] While playing NCAA basketball, Pollard finished sixth in Jayhawks history among free throw shooters with 358, fourth in rebounds with 850, and second in blocked shots with 218.

He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Christian Laettner, but Pollard never suited up for a game with them and was waived almost a month later.

Pollard was traded to the Sacramento Kings, whose management was in the midst of building a successful playoff team at the time.

It was during his stint with the Kings that he became a solid backup to center Vlade Divac, often starting at power forward when Chris Webber was injured.

Pollard was known across the NBA for his peculiar hairstyles, which included a Mohawk, a single pony tail, a man bun, and a bald head.

On January 2, 2006, he introduced a new hairstyle when he wore two pony tails during a Pacers home game against the Seattle SuperSonics.

On October 3, 2014, Mark Boyle announced that Pollard would be joining the Indiana Pacers radio crew.

In January 2024, Pollard revealed that he needed a heart transplant due to a genetic issue that was triggered by a virus he contracted in 2021.