NBA legend Gary Payton is one of the most notorious trash-talkers in league history, and the chatter didn’t stop when he went home.
Gary Payton II, the elder Payton’s son and a member of the Golden State Warriors, said his father’s trash talk pushed him to get better and ultimately reach the NBA.
“He was trash-talking me. I got a lot of that when I was growing up. He used to talk trash to me when I was sorry growing up playing hoop, coming to my games telling me this, telling me that,” Payton II said. “I probably got it a little worse than y’all did on the court, but I kind of think he instilled the dawg in me. I didn’t like the way he was talking to me, so I had to find a way to flip it on him. But now, he don’t say nothing to me no more, so I guess I’m doing something right.”
Payton II is in his eighth season in the league, having played his most memorable and successful years with the Warriors. He won an NBA championship with Golden State in 2022; during the postseason, Payton fractured his elbow but returned later in the playoffs to help the Warriors best the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Payton began his pro career in the G League after going undrafted in 2016. He bounced around several teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Washington Wizards, before finally landing with the Warriors in 2021. After the title win, Payton signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, although he returned to the Warriors via trade less than a year later.
Payton’s father, who earned the nickname “The Glove,” is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, having won the 1996 Defensive Player of the Year award and being named to nine All-Defensive First Teams in his career.
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