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
He fooled us. Usually, we get the tantrum and all of that. He can say some mean stuff. But this time, he went to an opposite approach. I never thought I'd ever see that from him. He must have danced a good three or four minutes. He was good out there, twirling around, light on his feet. We got some spirit from that.
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 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.
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.
I think I can still play with a lot of people in this league,
I think we got to get a win to make it 2-2, to make people understand that we can beat them, that they don't have any advantage over us. We just have to make a statement like that.
I think (Stern) is just trying to get our image back.