Gary Payton was a hooper and the guys in the street did not want him in the street he had friends who kept him out of trouble. His friends kept him out of trouble along with his strict father. His father told Gary Payton to stay in school in 1989 and he was second taken by the Supersonics. His first game was against Micheal Jordan and Jordan shut him down. He had his son in 1992 and did not expect his son to play basketball. He had two sons named after him, they are 5 months apart. Gary Payton II does not have Kids and Gary Payton Jr does have kids. Boston had a great team his coaches KC Jones and George Karl was the turning point. He made them play in the Summer League. He was not worrying about getting Aids when Magic got Aids it changed. You had girls just sleeping with the same in the same industry and he said he could not turn down those pretty women. In 1993 he went to the NBA called the Glove, a top player in the NBA. Gary Payton had the streets in him. He had to throw the game off his opponents and he was trash-talking about their mothers. He was hanging with thugs and they would do what he said period. He was cussing him out. He played the dozens on the court. His dad told him not to come home if he got his butt kicked. The bird was the truth. When they got to the finals, a game the Sonics played too scared against the Bulls in the finals and they lost.
In this full-length interview, Gary Payton starts the conversation off by talking about what life was like growing up in the projects of West Oakland during the crack epidemic and the hard-nosed approach that his father used to toughen him up and discipline him from his adolescence throughout his stint as a standout college basketball player at Oregon State. In a full-circle moment of the discussion, Gary Payton later detailed the parenting tactics that he used once he became the father of four.
As the conversation continues, the legendary hooper talks about the events leading up to him being drafted by the Seattle Supersonics, his regular-season debut against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, his development as a franchise player alongside Shawn Kemp, and the long-lasting effect that George Karl had on each of them as a head coach. While the trio enjoyed success in a highly competitive Western Conference during the early-mid 90s, their stint together was not completely unblemished. According to Gary Payton, his verbal altercation with teammate Ricky Pierce nearly ended with gun violence in the Supersonics locker room. But luckily for everyone involved, cooler heads prevailed.
The former “Defensive Player of the Year” recalls the time when his cousin gave him the nickname “The Glove,” his epic showdown against Michael Jordan during the NBA Finals (1996), and the way in his defensive strategy against the league’s all-time scoring average leader worked. The Hall of Famer later talks about his other NBA finals appearances against the Pistons (2004) and Mavericks (2006). Lastly, Gary Payton weighs in on the MJ vs LBJ debate, Scottie Pippen’s legacy as an all-around basketball player, Kobe Bryant’s death, and LeBron’s current stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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