Gary Payton II

Gary Dwayne Payton II (born December 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a junior and senior playing college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers, Payton was named first-team All-Pac-12 as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He won his first NBA championship with the Warriors in 2022. He is the son of Hall of Famer Gary Payton. He is sometimes called "Young Glove" in reference to his father's nickname, "the Glove." His other nickname is "the Mitten", but he prefers Young Glove. He is also commonly referred to as "GP2". High school and college career Payton was born in Seattle to Monique and Gary Payton, while his father was a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. He attended Spring Valley High School where he lettered two years in basketball and one year in swimming before graduating in 2011. He then enrolled at Westwind Preparatory Academy for the 2011–12 season. Salt Lake Bruins Payton played two seasons at Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, Utah. He averaged 9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.9 steals per game as a freshman (2012–13) and led the Bruins to a 29–5 overall record and 14–1 mark in the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC), where they won the Region 18 Championship and outright SWAC title in 2013. Payton was named First Team All-SWAC and made Region 18 All-Tournament Team as a freshman. In his sophomore year, he averaged 14.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, earning him Second Team NJCAA Division I All-American honors, and was voted 2014 Region 18 Co-Player of the Year and Region 18 Tournament Most Valuable Player. The Bruins finished with a 27–7 overall record and won their second consecutive Region 18 Championship.