Love for 'the Glove': a tribute to Gary Payton

NBA Legend Gary Payton is nominated at the Hall of Fame press conference during of the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend at the Hilton Americas Hotel on February 15, 2013 in Houston, Texas. (Getty Images)

Yes, the internet did exist back in 1996, but my friends and I neither had access to it, nor did we know how to use it yet. For NBA fans today, it’s nearly unimaginable to believe that the game could be followed without instant Twitter updates, YouTube clips, play-by-play online updates or analysis.

But as basketball-addicted 11-year-olds, we found our way. We woke too at dawn to watch live games in India, we worshipped primetime shows like ‘NBA Inside Stuff’ and ‘NBA Action’, we passed around the single SLAM magazine for months between all of us, we adorned our hostel rooms with posters of Michael Jordan and Shaq, and we played with NBA trading cards.

That is how I discovered Gary Payton.

I was enamoured by the legend of ‘The Glove’ first before being enamoured by his game. I loved the idea of a tough-as-nails point guard who was the greatest perimeter defender of his time. He was also one of the greatest of all-time, who would also lead his team in points, assists, steals and minutes. I was obsessed with getting my hands on Payton’s #20 Green Supersonics jersey. I had the trading card, the SLAM cover and the posters. Yet, I had barely watched him play.

9 Feb 1997: Seattle Supersonics forward Shawn Kemp (right) and guard Gary Payton confer during the NBA All-Star game in Cleveland, Ohio. (Getty Images)

The legend, the personality, the trip to the Finals, the hell he gave Michael Jordan, the defensive awards, the alley-oops to Shawn Kemp, the trash-talking, the limited highlight reel videos, the few live games and the stats, all added up to create for me, a complete mosaic of the perfect player.

Thousands of miles away from any NBA market in a boarding school in the Indian Himalayas, I had already decided that I was going to become a Knicks fan (thanks to the mid-90s dominance, and largely later due to the 1999 Finals run). But Gary Dwyane Payton became my favourite player.

In the 16th season of his 17-season career, Payton finally won an elusive championship. It was third visit to the Finals, and the first successful one. He won it as a member of the Miami Heat, tracking along the coattails of a young and electrifying Dwyane Wade and a mildly-dominant Shaquille O’Neal. He hit a couple of massive shots in the Finals against the Mavericks in 2006 to seal his place amongst the legion of champions.

Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls exchanges words with Gary Payton #20 of the Seattle SuperSonics during Game Two of the 1996 NBA Finals. (Getty Images)

He retired in 2007 as a Miami player. He played briefly for the Bucks, Lakers and Celtics. He has made indelible marks in his time as a high school star in Oakland and a college superstar in Oregon State.

But he will forever be a Seattle Supersonic.

Drafted second by the Sonics in 1990, Payton came into the NBA with high expectations after his college career. But he struggled mightily in his first two seasons, averaging just 8.2 ppg in his first two seasons. The breakout finally began in 1993, as his scoring average cracked double digits, and by 1994, he had established himself as one of the NBA’s elite point guards, making his first All-Star appearance.

Along with the explosive Shawn Kemp, Payton helped transform the Sonics into one of the most exciting teams in the league and one of the perennial contenders in the Western Conference. Over the next decade, he enjoyed regular All-Star status, made two appearances in the All NBA First Team, an incredible nine appearances in the All Defensive First Team and was named the Defensive Player of the Year – a rare honour for a perimeter player – in 1996.

1995-96 was a banner year for Payton and the Sonics. They won a franchise record 64 games and went all the way to the NBA Finals to play against Michael Jordan’s Bulls. Although MJ triumphed (as he usually did), Payton was his most formidable Finals opponent ever. It was a mythic head-to-head battle of mind-games, trash-talk and physical play between two of the most competitive players of all-time.

Payton guarded Scottie Pippen for the first two games as the Bulls cruised to a 2-0 series lead. By Game 3, Payton switched to Jordan, and from Games 4-6, Payton held Jordan to his worst Finals scoring output and shooting percentage. On the other side of the court, he made Jordan sweat on the defensive end as well.

It would all come to nigh, as despite a brief comeback by the Sonics, the Bulls won the series 4-2 for their fourth championship. But ‘The Glove’ – so nicknamed of the handicapping defence he played on opponents – had made his mark on the game’s biggest stage. Later that summer Payton won an Olympics gold medal for the USA in the Atlanta Olympics.

While he never put up gaudy, eye-popping numbers, Payton’s brilliance was in his consistency. In his 17 year career, he missed just 25 games and would go on to play over 300 consecutive games at a point. He averaged a career-high in points (24.2) in 2000, in assists (9.0) in 2002 and in steals (2.9) in 1996. He brought his trademark intensity and trash-talking style of play night after night to become one of the greatest two-way point guards in league history.

Gary Payton #20 of the Miami Heat holds the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the Heat won the 2006 NBA Finals after defeating the Dallas Mavericks. (Getty Images)

Midway in the 2003 season, Payton’s storied career with the Supersonics ended and he was traded to the Bucks. The following off-season, he found himself as a part of the Lakers’ ‘Fantastic Four’ squad, which teamed aging Payton and Karl Malone with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Despite on and off court drama, Payton’s own struggles to find his place in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, the team made the NBA Finals only to lose to the Detroit Pistons.

After just one year in LA, Payton moved to the Celtics and played another largely forgettable year in Boston before joining the Heat. After years of struggle and near-misses, his story finally had a happy ending. He was a champion.

Soon after Payton’s retirement, his beloved Sonics were moved out of Seattle and to Oklahoma City, where they have transformed into the incredibly successful Thunder. Payton dreams of having his jersey retired back in Seattle. With the future of the Sacramento Kings now up in the air and Seattle looking like a likely destination if the Kings are to move, Payton’s wish could well be fulfilled very soon.

Now, six years after his retirement, it has been announced that Gary Payton will be enshrined amongst the game’s greatest, in the Basketball Hall of Fame. It will be a well-deserved honour for one of the game’s greatest players. And we look forward to all the trash that he will talk in his acceptance speech.

My memories of being a Payton fan inevitably take me back to the simpler days of NBA fandom. Back when we used coat-hangers as baskets and rolled-up socks as basketballs to play ‘full-court’ imaginary All-Star games. Back when we made scrap-books devoted to our favourite players and teams from cut-outs of other basketball magazines. Back when my love affair with the NBA and with basketball first began.

So congrats to The Glove. One of the greatest at his position. NBA Champion. Hall of Famer. And my childhood favourite.