His teammates call him "the Wrestler."
When Gary Payton II is given his cue to take the stage, he often does so in dramatic fashion, like every great professional wrestler. He runs out of the tunnel near the Golden State Warriors' bench and onto the court, and everyone in the building can feel it - he's looking for trouble.
He's smiling, which is always a dangerous sign. This guy is up to something.
Sunday evening, against visiting Minnesota, Payton made an entrance in the fourth quarter, with 9:37 remaining and the Warriors up by six. He received his cue because Anthony Edwards had just checked in for the Timberwolves, rested and ready to exert his superstar will. Somebody would have to stop him if the Warriors were going to avoid losing their seventh game in their last eight.
During their slump, the Warriors have had trouble closing games. They knew it, and the crowd knew it: This was another opportunity to blow a winnable game.
So the Wrestler, riding a stationary bike in the tunnel to keep warm, gets the call. Edwards takes wary notice as Payton sidles up to him.
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Immediately Payton dogs Edwards away from the ball and fights through a Mike Conley screen. Bodies collide and Edwards hits the deck. No call, and Payton lifts Edwards to his feet. Such a gentleman.
Now Edwards dribbles Payton into a screen set by massive Rudy Gobert and goes up for a jumper, but Payton leans into the space between Gobert and Edwards, blocks the shot, and takes it the other way for a layup and an eight-point lead.
Over the last nine minutes, Edwards takes seven shots, misses six. With a minute left, Warriors leading by three, Edwards thinks he has a teammate open on a pick-and-roll, but Payton backs away from Edwards, intercepts the pass and flips the ball to Stephen Curry, who feeds Buddy Hield for a corner 3, icing the game.
Curry was asked to explain what Payton did in that fourth quarter.
"What was he doing? He was strapping up, that's what we call it," Curry said. "Ant can still make shots over him, but (Payton) was trying to make it tough, and that's what great defenders do."
Great? Yes. "Great" seems an odd label to put on a guy who played for five G League teams, but couldn't quite find a fit on four other NBA teams. Skinny 6-foot-2 guards who don't score are not in great demand in the NBA.
Until the Warriors found him, Payton was the basketball equivalent of a Quadruple-A player in baseball - too good for the highest minors, not quite good enough for the big leagues.
Payton, though, is a great defender, and a crafty wrestler, and that's what the Warriors needed. They found a place for him in the 2021-22 season, when he helped them win a title, and he's got an important role now, as they fight to regain relevance, this time as a quirky, annoying team.
On Sunday Payton was in the starting lineup. With Andrew Wiggins nursing an injury, the Warriors needed early energy and someone to hound Edwards. The Warriors' analytics people have determined that the team plays really well when Curry and Payton are paired, so Payton got the start.
Despite his low scoring, Payton is not a liability on offense. As Curry explained Sunday, "He also has a strong IQ for where to be on offense. He gets to his spots quickly, we run a lot of pick and rolls, me and him, where he's rolling in the pocket, getting downhill, he knows how to move the ball quick, set great screens, just make the next play."
But it's on defense where Payton makes his living. And as head coach Steve Kerr explained, "I think part of being a great defender is, you gotta bother people."
Sunday, Payton bothered the young star everyone calls Ant.
"If he's talking to the refs, I think I'm doing a pretty good job," Payton said.
Edwards is a trash talker. Payton also loves to talk - to refs, fans, opponents. He chatted up Edwards like they were old buddies meeting on a street corner. What was Payton saying?
"Nothing. Let him talk, he's a pretty funny guy, so him talking to the refs is (good). They gotta mic Ant up more often. Just bother him, he's one who talks to refs, tells them they missed a foul or whatnot. I might have fouled him, I mighta not. They ain't call it, it ain't no foul."
