Payton encourages Pinoys: Chase NBA dream
REGARDLESS of height or whichever part of the world you are from, an NBA dream is never impossible as long you work hard for it.
Gary Payton, an NBA Hall-of-Famer, firmly believes that height or talent isn’t the only factor that determines whether a player can make it to the league, but rather his hard work and perseverance to become better in his craft.
So the thought of a homegrown Filipino talent making it all the way to the NBA isn’t at all farfetched.
“We can’t say that. We don’t know about that. Like I said, they got to work hard just to get to that level. It’s not easy just to come in and get into the NBA. It’s not going to be easy, the’re a lot of players that are good in this world and they’re going to have to work hard. That’s all they have to do. We can’t project when a Filipino player’s going to be in there. He’s got to work hard and see if he can get there on his own,” said Payton, who was in town for the opening of the fourth NBA Store in the Philippines at Ayala Center Cebu. the Ayala Center Cebu the other night.
Filipino players aren’t as tall as their American counterparts but Payton, a big point guard in his time in the 90s, feels that height shouldn’t be a hindrance for a player to be great.
“I don’t care nothing about that (height). You see Muggsy Bogues, Spud Webb, all of them made it to the NBA. You see Nate Robinson make it to the NBA. That’s not a factor right there. If you’re good and you can play , like I said work hard and do it. Anybody can make it to the NBA,” said Payton.
Possible
Bogues is 5’3,” Webb is 5’7” and Robinson is 5’9.”
Payton got a glimpse of some young Cebuano basketball players and had a chance to talk to them.
“They have to work hard. You can’t really say anything to basketball players. You got to make sure they work hard. It’s all in their heart, not in mine. I can go out there and say anything I want to, but if they don’t listen to it and do it on their own it’ll never work. So I always tell them to inspire themselves to work hard, have a goal and focus on it and be better,” he said.
Payton is now a bas- ketball ambassador for the NBA. He was an NBA champion with the Miami Heat in 2006, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a nine-time NBA All-Star and a Defensive Player of the Year.
He had career averages of 16.3 points per game, 6.7 assists per game and 1.8 steals per game. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.