San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
PAYTON IS LIFE OF PARTY
Relentlessly positive forward’s impact goes beyond his energy, effect on morale
Gary Payton II is the Golden State Warriors’ Puck.
I don’t know diddly about Shakespeare, but the name Puck popped into my head, so I Googled it. Puck is a character in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” his name now synonymous with a mischievous sprite or jokester.
That seemed to fit Payton, especially this note on Puck: “He significantly influences events in the play.”
Head coach Steve Kerr doesn’t roll out a 6-foot-3 power forward for 17 minutes every game just to keep things light and entertaining on the court.
The mischievous sprite part is a bonus. Payton is always the most fun player to watch on the court. And off the court, for that matter. High-fiving a scowling infant. Chatting with fans. Warriors media-relations whiz Raymond Ridder says the network TV production people always beg Payton to wear the live mike.
Life of the party. And here’s a little secret: Payton isn’t just goofing around. He might be the only player in the NBA who actively tries to steal fouls for teammates.
When Payton is whistled for a foul, he often raises his hand. The hand-raise used to be required by the rules, but fell out of vogue a half-century ago, giving way to the tantrum. I assumed Payton was simply being old-school polite.
In reality, Payton is attempting to trick the refs into giving him a foul that was called on a teammate. That’s a trick as old as canvas-top sneakers. I learned it from my cagey high school coach, but it rarely worked. Payton said he learned it from his dad, then gave his signature “Heh-heh” chuckle.
“Sometimes you gotta take (a foul) for certain guys,” Payton explained. “And you know
me, I don’t mind taking a foul. I should probably use my fouls if I have ’em. … Anyone who’s close to me, Draymond (Green) or 30 (Curry), I’ll take their foul because they’re more valuable on the court than I am.”
And it actually works? “Absolutely. Sometimes it’s kind of hard (for the ref ) to see the play, so if I can just put my hand up quick, they’ll just go, ‘All right, it’s on G.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, thank you.’ ”
(Actual Puck dialogue: “An actor, too, perhaps, if I see cause.”)
Don’t worry, the refs won’t read this and turn on Payton. They love the guy. He not only accepts his own fouls gracefully, he even chats up the zebras,
treats ’em like human beings.
During a game earlier this season, Payton was wearing a TV mike when referee J.T. Orr sidled up to him during a stoppage and told him, “You are literally the happiest guy in the league. I don’t know if anybody plays with more enthusiasm than you do. You’re always positive, always happy, you know what I mean?”
Said Payton, “We ain’t got nothin‘ to be frownin‘ about. I appreciate ya.”
Of course he does. Payton appreciates everything. He’s 31 and in only his second full NBA season as a rotation player.
Undrafted, he knocked around the league for five seasons, with one foot on an
NBA roster and the other dancing in the G League, before he and the Warriors discovered each other. Payton probably reasons that if he makes himself an entertaining and useful guest, nobody will bother to check his credentials and have him thrown out of the gym.
Random question to Kerr: Does anyone have more fun playing basketball than Gary Payton?
Kerr: “Maybe Steph, but it’s close. I love watching Gary play, there’s an energy about him. He also just makes the right play constantly, catching the ball and swinging it immediately, he understands the importance of that type of action. And then the way he can dive and finish at the rim, he’s a terrific player.”
It’s not coincidental that the first real chance Payton got as an NBA rotation player came in the 2021-22 season, and the Warriors won the NBA title. This team is the perfect place for Payton in the NBA, right?
“Absolutely,” Payton said. “The spacing, the personnel, fits me to a T. I used to always tell myself, if I ever got a chance with the Warriors, we would win a championship, and we ended up winning a championship.”
In those 2022 playoffs, Payton improbably played his way into the Warriors’ starting lineup during the Western Conference semis, suffered a broken elbow that same game, and returned for the Finals. In Game 5 against the Celtics, Payton had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.
I asked Payton whether he always has had this much fun playing.
“Probably not,” he said. “I just found a way to not worry about the wins and losses. Definitely want to win for sure, but just enjoying the process. We play basketball for a living every day. There’s worse things than playing basketball.”
In the G League he played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Wisconsin Herd, the South Bay Lakers, the Canton Charge, the Capital City Go Go, and the Raptors 905.
“The journey was fun,” Payton said. “Going through everything, learning as I go, getting knocked down, finding ways to get back up and do your plan, remap your plan and go out and try again.”
As Puck said, “I am that merry wanderer of the night.”