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.
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.
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.
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.
George said I needed to start giving him something special,
We're very close, and when he steps up for me like that, it's hard to tell him no.
The simple fact is back in the day when (guard) Alvin Robertson and (guard) Derek Harper were guarding you, they could hand-check you and do everything else and you had to shoot over them. They were making it tough for you. You had to earn everything.
We have a lot of new guys coming in that are going to have to learn the system. And we are going to have to get it together right away. I think that is where a lot of people are concerned about us. We have a good shot, we have a lot of talent here and we have to get cohesive very quickly.
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.
I think I can still play with a lot of people in this league,
We have people calling from out-of-state who want to come and help. As we begin this recovery, we will serve as a referral service for volunteers.
I don't think Shaq really worries about it. I think he wants to play well, but he doesn't really worry about it. ... It's over.
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,