Now hitting clutch shots and getting clutch minutes for the WARRIORS
Gary Payton II has found a home in Golden State: 'They let me be me'
Gary Payton II, 30, has had a basketball career full of rejection. He has been cut from teams four times in six years and spent five years toiling in the NBA's G League.
And he'd just been cut again.
Payton knew there was an opening in the Golden State Warriors' video coordination department, so he approached assistant coach Jama Mahlalela.
It was an opportunity, he thought, to still contribute and participate. "I was dead serious," Payton says. "If I get cut, I'm going to audition for that job. ... I was just trying to stay around. I'd still be around the game, I could still help, travel whatnot. And then figure it out from there."
But Mahlalela had other plans.
"I just talked to him about the criteria for the video room: A willing learner, someone who can get on the court still and play, whatever. And he's like, 'I'll do that,'" Mahlalela says. "And I'm like, Gary, I'm not letting you do that. There is no chance in the world you are going to do that. You are playing for this team."
Payton was ready to do what he'd always done: adapt.
Gary Payton II has found a home in Golden State: 'They let me be me'
Gary Payton II, 30, has had a basketball career full of rejection. He has been cut from teams four times in six years and spent five years toiling in the NBA's G League.
And he'd just been cut again.
Payton knew there was an opening in the Golden State Warriors' video coordination department, so he approached assistant coach Jama Mahlalela.
It was an opportunity, he thought, to still contribute and participate. "I was dead serious," Payton says. "If I get cut, I'm going to audition for that job. ... I was just trying to stay around. I'd still be around the game, I could still help, travel whatnot. And then figure it out from there."
But Mahlalela had other plans.
"I just talked to him about the criteria for the video room: A willing learner, someone who can get on the court still and play, whatever. And he's like, 'I'll do that,'" Mahlalela says. "And I'm like, Gary, I'm not letting you do that. There is no chance in the world you are going to do that. You are playing for this team."
Payton was ready to do what he'd always done: adapt.
Last edited:
