Warriors guard Gary Payton II proudly defends the best modern NBA players night in and night out.
However, being the son of Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton Sr. and watching him play 18 seasons, the 31-year-old imagines himself guarding basketball’s all-time greats, especially during his dad’s era.
On a recent episode of “Dubs Talk" with NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole and Dalton Johnson, Payton II shared a list of retired players he wishes he could defend.
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“I wish I would’ve guarded Jamal Crawford in his prime,” Payton II explained to Johnson and Poole. “Shout out to J-Craw. Allen [Iverson], for sure. Steve Francis is one of them, for sure. There’s just all the old guards, it’s crazy. [Jason Williams], White Chocolate, I definitely wanted that matchup. That would’ve been a fun matchup. But all the 1990s guards, There’s just so many. [Rajon] Rondo, he’s just so efficient and makes no mistakes.”
Payton II closely watched his dad earn nine All-NBA defensive selections while locking down a handful of the aforementioned names.
The 8-year veteran also saw the longtime Seattle Supersonics guard win a Defensive Player of the Year award in the same era.
Most importantly, Payton II envies the NBA’s previous allowance allowance of hand-checking, bumping and contact leniency, compared to the 2023-2024 edition of the league that favors offensive players and foul-baiting.
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“I just wish I could get in there and see what things were like back then,” Payton II told Poole and Johnson. “I’d give you all 90s if you really want to talk about it. With the bump and hit and all that, it was a good time for sure.”
Taking after his father, Payton II has been one of the NBA’s best defenders since entering the league in 2016.
It would be fun to watch Payton II guard stars from previous decades with more freedom defensively through physicality and aggressiveness, like his dad.