Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II changes Game 3 vs. Rockets to dad’s delight

SAN FRANCISCO – As former NBA star Gary Payton Sr. took pictures and returned hi-fives from fans after the Golden State Warriors’ Game 3 playoff victory, he seemed distracted while keeping his eye on the court.

“Hold on, let me talk to my son real quick,” Payton said as he left his seat, deliberately placed across from the Warriors’ bench in the third row, at Chase Center.

That son, Gary Payton II, played a huge role in helping the Warriors defeat the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night.

With Warriors guard Jimmy Butler sidelined with a pelvic injury, Payton II impacted both ends of the floor, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter — including two 3-pointers — to go with three steals and tough defense. The Warriors lead 2-1 in the best-of-seven playoff series that resumes tonight at Chase Center.

Before Payton II left the hardwood, he walked across to get a hug and congratulatory words from his father, words that the younger Payton relishes now because it was quite the opposite during his youth.

“When I was growing up, he always used to talk and say something during the game,” Payton II told Andscape. “Now, he don’t. He just enjoys the game. So, what happened a while ago is now peace of mind for me. I don’t have to worry about him no more yelling and barking. I know I’m doing something right.

“He likes coming to the games. I got to be doing something right for him to keep coming.”

Payton Sr. is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in NBA history. The 1996 NBA Defensive Player of the Year was nicknamed “The Glove” for his defense and was a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer also was a nine-time NBA All-Star, won an NBA title with the Miami Heat in 2006 and was a nine-time All-NBA selection. Payton Sr. is now the men’s basketball head coach of Alameda College, which is located just outside of his hometown of Oakland, California.

That Payton name certainly didn’t make it easy to Payton II to become an NBA veteran. Now playing in his ninth season, the former Oregon State star went undrafted in 2016, was waived by NBA teams four times in six years and spent five years in the NBA G League. It wasn’t until the 2021-22 season that he solidified a spot in the NBA and found stability with the Warriors after earning their final roster spot.

Payton Sr. said he is proud of what his son has been able to accomplish as an NBA player.

“He went through everything. He went through the trials and tribulations and he got it,” Payton Sr. said to Andscape. “I like it now because he has his confidence. That’s what he needs. Just needs confidence.”

Like his father did with the Heat, Payton II won an NBA championship as a member of the Warriors in 2022. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr still has fond memories of the impact Payton II had defensively during the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

“Gary flipped the whole series against Boston,” Kerr said. “We’re going against all those great offensive players — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. Gary misses Game 1 and arrives after the injury for Game 2 and we win four of the next five.

“That is not a coincidence. Gary is one of the best defensive players in the league and he is a really dynamic roller [on offense]. We’ve seen this. We knew what Gary was capable of at the highest level.”

Payton Sr. was primarily busy this season coaching Alameda College, but when time permitted, he would attend Warriors games to support his son. In December, Payton II said he used his employee discount to help his dad get four season tickets in the third row directly across from the Warriors bench. Payton Sr. said the tickets were a present from his son offering an opportunity to support him at the games.

When told that his dad received the tickets as a present from his son, a surprised Gary Payton II laughed and said: “He bought his own tickets. No, it is not [a gift]. He’s gonna run that back. I guess I can give it to him as an early Christmas present. He just wanted to use my discount. You know him.

“I’ll find a way to get it back out of him. Don’t even worry about it… If we get through a couple rounds of the playoffs, the tickets will pay for themselves.”

Payton Sr. is definitely known for his trash-talking talent that is still in its prime to this day as a coach in junior college and the Big 3. He also had some playful words with Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant this season while in his Warriors seats. But more often than not, Payton Sr. is offering words of wisdom from his seat to his attentive son during down times in the game.

During Game 3, however, Payton Sr. actually questioned his son when he was within earshot for the Warriors’ execution on a play late in the game that led to a missed shot by Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski. With a smile and a laugh from the court, Payton II told his dad it was shot clock related.

“He can hear me easy,” Payton Sr. said. “I usually don’t say nothing. But he knows there is something when I get up. But he told me it was because the shot clock went down. But I told him to take a shot.”

Payton II certainly needed some words of wisdom entering Game 3 after struggling in the first two games of the series. Most notably, Payton II was scoreless with one steal in 12 minutes during a 109-94 Game 2 loss to the Rockets on April 23. Houston guard Jalen Green finished with 38 points and eight made 3-pointers in the game. Payton II described Game 2 against Houston as “the worst playoff game I’ve ever had in my life” and that he wasn’t locked in mentally.

“He knew he didn’t have a great trip in Houston. Didn’t play particularly well in either particular game,” Kerr said about Payton II. “He was kind of due.”

Payton II said he made a point to be himself, settle down, lock in mentally and cause havoc in Game 3.

Added motivation came from Butler’s injury in Game 2. Payton II entered the fourth quarter with the Warriors up 80-79 with 7:56 remaining. He nailed a corner 3-pointer with 5:27 remaining to regain an 85-84 lead for the Warriors with 5:27 left followed by a lay-up and another 3-pointer. He forced Houston Rockets guard Dillon Brooks, their only starter without a negative point differential, to foul out with 3:47 remaining.

Payton II sealed the game for Golden State with a reverse dunk with 21 seconds left. During a timeout with 13.2 seconds left and the Warriors fans at a fever pitch, Payton Sr.’s longtime friend Trevor Pope came up to him and yelled, “He won the game!” Pops seconded those words. Payton II also had a role in defending Green (nine points, 4-of-11 shooting) and Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5-of-14 shooting).

“He came in and was tough with [the Rockets],” Payton Sr. said about his son. “[The Rockets] want to make their team tougher than [the Warriors]. Gary went in and got on Green and started holding him down defensively and got on VanVleet and started holding him down, too. He didn’t back down. But what I liked about it is [Payton II] just didn’t play defense. He started making them watch him cutting and scoring.

“When he turned down two shots, I got up and said, ‘Hey, shoot the ball.’ And when he started shooting the ball, he hits it. When he is wide open he’s going to knock it down. He can get a lot of easy baskets. I tell him, ‘You got to make these guy play you, man.’ If you don’t go and punish them for doing what they do, it’s not going to work. But he went out and punished them.”

Said Kerr on Payton II: “I thought he made massive plays in the fourth quarter to help us win the game.”

Associated Press reporter Janie McCauley told Payton II after the game that his dad said he was “special” with his Game 3 performance. Payton II said that was the first time he ever heard his dad say that about his play. Payton II was also actually brought to tears during his inaugural Pouring Possibilities: A Fundraiser Mixer Benefitting Dyslexia on March 17, 2024, in Napa, California, after his dad took the microphone and said, “I was hard on him. Nowadays, I sit back. And I’m very proud of my son because I can just sit back and just say nothing. Just do nothing. And that’s great.”

To Payton II’s delight, Payton Sr. reiterated those feelings after his son’s big playoff game.

“I’m his father now,” Payton Sr. said. “I like to be his dad. And I don’t have to be the basketball player or think that he has to play like me. There is only one Gary Payton, but he’s named after me. I just like it because he plays the game.

“Now, I can sit up here and be a proud dad. My offspring is doing the same thing I did in the NBA, and I’m happy for that.”

Said Payton II: “He says a lot without saying a lot. I know it. I get it. And I hear him. It’s all love and I know he enjoys seeing me play.”