Gary Payton

The Glove: Hall of Fame point guard and defensive legend.

Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 17 seasons. Nicknamed "the Glove" for his defensive abilities, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time. He spent the majority of his career with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he holds franchise records in assists and steals, and later played short stints for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat.

He made three NBA Finals appearances: with the Sonics in 1996, the Lakers in 2004, and the Heat in 2006, winning in the last. Payton was the first (and, until Marcus Smart was selected in 2022, only) point guard to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. He was selected for nine All-NBA Teams, All-Defensive First Teams (tying the record), and All-Star Games each. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Quick Facts

Team: Alameda Cougars
Position: Head coach
League: Bay Valley Conference
Born: 23 July 1968
Birthplace: Oakland, California, U.S.
High school: Skyline (Oakland, California)
College: Oregon State (1986–1990)
Draft round: 1

Lore & Background

Gary Dwayne Payton was born on July 23, 1968, in Oakland, California. He attended Skyline High School, where he excelled in basketball along with former NBA player Greg Foster. Payton played college basketball at Oregon State University in Corvallis, then led by hall of fame head coach Ralph Miller. At one point, he wanted to attend the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), but hall of fame head coach Don Haskins later rescinded his offer after Payton was deciding between UTEP and St. John's. In his sophomore year of high school, his grades plummeted and he was declared academically ineligible.

His father encouraged him to focus on school, and he was allowed to play again. Throughout his four-year career at Oregon State, he became one of the most decorated basketball players in school history. Miller retired at age seventy in 1989, after Payton's junior season, and was succeeded by Jim Anderson. During his senior season in 1989–90, Payton was featured in the cover story of Sports Illustrated on March 5 as the nation's best college basketball player.

He was a consensus All-American, a three-time All-Pac-10 selection, and both the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and conference Freshman of the Year in 1987. He was the MVP of the Far West Classic tournament three times, the Pac-10 Player of the Week nine times, and named to the Pac-10's All-Decade Team. At the time of his graduation, Payton held the school record for points, field goals, three-point field goals, assists, and steals – all of which he still holds today except for career points and three-point field goals.

During his career at OSU, the Beavers made three NCAA tournament appearances and one NIT appearance. He was elected into OSU's Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Reader's Guide

Payton was the second overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, and wound up spending his first 12½ seasons with the Sonics. Payton wore the #20 jersey for the majority of his NBA career, except for his rookie season when he wore #2 due to Quintin Dailey wearing his preferred #20. In his third career game, Payton recorded his first double-double after recording 13 points and 10 assists in a road win over the Nuggets. On February 23, 1991, Payton recorded his first career triple-double after recording 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in a losing effort to the Suns.

The following game, Payton scored only 2 points but dished out 16 assists, a then career-high for him. He joined Slick Watts and Nate McMillan as the only SuperSonics' players to have dished out 16 or more assists in his rookie season. Throughout his rookie campaign, Payton recorded 8 point-assist double-doubles, the most by any SuperSonics' player in history. His average for his rookie season is 7.2 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, 6.4 assists per game, and 2.0 steals per game.

Entering the league to star-studded expectations, Payton struggled during his first two seasons in the league, averaging 8.2 points per game during that span. In his second season, Payton recorded 2 triple-doubles on the whole season joining Slick Watts and Nate McMillan at that time to have recorded 2 triple-doubles in a season in Supersonics franchise history. He scored a season-high 22 points to go along with 7 assists in a road win over the Bullets on November 19, 1991.

His season average is 9.4 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 6.2 assists per game, 1.8 steals per game, and 0.3 blocks per game. Payton soon proved himself to be one of the league's top point guards during the 1990s. Payton, alongside Shawn Kemp formed the "Sonic Boom", under head coach George Karl. In 1996, the SuperSonics won a franchise record 64 games, then reached the NBA Finals where they lost in six games to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.

The SuperSonics trailed in the series 0-3, but with Payton assigned to guard Jordan the SuperSonics staved off elimination by winning Games Four and Five. In 2001, the SuperSonics were bought by Howard Schultz, with whom Payton had a sour relationship. When Payton did not attend the first day of training camp in 2002, Schultz insisted that Payton be traded.