Gary Payton II Says Not Affected By Last Dance Remarks By Michael Jordan

Gary Payton II
Gary Payton II

Gary Payton II last year watched The Last Dance, a documentary by Michael Jordan depicting his final Chicago Bulls season. The 6th of the 8-part document had a mention of Gary Payton II.

The Warriors guard’s father was NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton, a point guard and member of the Hall of Fame. He was in the most prominent position to speak of the incident, as he was with the Seattle Supersonics when they faced Michael in the NBA Finals. And the meme was posted.

Payton explained that the series reversed as he began guarding the NBA legend. Michael gave a quizzical look and then burst lightheartedly into laughter.

Gary Payton II’s father says that while others backed down to Jordan, he did not. He made it a point to tire Michael out, and he did everything possible to that end. He said it had an effect on Jordan, but then the whole series changed. He believes that the series could have gone either way.

Gary Payton II Says That He Has No Problem About Jordan’s Comments

Jordan disagrees with Gary Payton II’s father. He said that he had no problems with The Glove. He said that he was preoccupied with other things at that moment. Gary Payton II’s father earned the nickname ‘The Glove’ for his defensive prowess when playing in the 1993 Western Conference Finals.

When Gary Payton II was asked to comment on Michael laughing and the comments he made about The Glove, he replied that he had no problem with it. He said that he was aware of the fierce rivalry between them and there was nothing but respect for each other. But that was off-court; on the court, they were fierce rivals.

The Chicago Bulls had a 3 game lead over Seattle before Gary Payton took to guarding Michael for the game. The Bulls lost the next two games before clinching the 6th and Jordan’s 4th Championship.

Gary Payton II was signed on a non-guaranteed bond on an opening day this season. He has surpassed expectations and is a leading defensive player in his rights. He has also been among the points when it was needed. Gary Payton II is a +8.5 and has a defensive rating of 94.