Gary Payton
Gary Payton
Gary Dwayne Paytonis an American former professional basketball player. He started at the point guard position. He is best known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics, and holds Seattle franchise records in points, assists, and steals. He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, the last with whom he won an NBA championship. He was nicknamed "The Glove" for his excellent defensive ability. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth23 July 1968
CityOakland, CA
We want to win basketball games, and not let our egos get in the way. Everybody on this team has, at one point, been a star or a starter or a bigger part of their team. ... We have to understand that we are talking about wins, not who is going to have the points.
What I think Pat is doing is he's trying to get us perfect. There's no coach that would come out and say, 'You're perfect,' because once you hear your coach say that, then we'll slip up and we'll start slacking. He's doing what he's supposed to. He's supposed to stay on us like that.
George said I needed to start giving him something special,
It's been very hard coming from where I come from, starting all my time. But right now it's not about that. It's about what we have to accomplish to get to a championship.
A lot of guys are stepping up, a lot of things are happening for us that are good. Everybody's stepping in and playing their roles, so all we think about is winning right now. We're starting to jell a little bit.
We've got to expect a war. Everybody's overlooking this team, but this is a very good team.
We're very close, and when he steps up for me like that, it's hard to tell him no.
We all had a skip in our step. We had to go out and prove we can play against a top team. We went out and established ourselves.
I didn't like him as light as he was. He should have been a little bulkier. That's when he's Shaq Diesel.
I didn't like him as light as he was,
Me and him are going to click real, real well, ... I'm going to take him under my wing. I'm going to make sure he doesn't get mad at situations where it's not even necessary.
When I come into camp, I'm going to try to help him,
We always have to be the ones to give us a little energy.
I think Pat realized he didn't have that maturity. With Shaq getting hurt and Wade getting hurt, I think he needed someone who could make big shots and big plays. I think he went out and did that.