Gary Payton II adds multiple levels of depth to Warriors roster

Gary Payton Ⅱ has burst onto the scene.

His newfound stardom with the Warriors has been years in the making. The 6’3 guard hailing from Oregon State and the son of NBA legend Gary Payton better known as “The Glove” has quickly risen to relevancy with his recent string of highlight-filled performances and tough defense.

GP2 is everything we wanted in Kelly Oubre Jr. last season, but better.

More recently, we have seen Payton put together a dunk highlight package that is straight out of an AND-1 mixtape. The guy has off-the-charts athleticism, there is simply no denying that. But while his dunks are awesome to watch and often fire the crowd up, it’s his defensive performance that has been setting him apart. Something that Oubre could never really establish within his role.

GP2’s recent play has been talked about at length by his teammates and front office personnel, Stephen Curry recently had this to say about the backup guard. “I don’t know how he does it, he's the same height as me”, in regards to Payton’s leaping ability.

Payton is fully aware of his role on this team. He’s a guy that will more than likely be coming off the bench with limited minutes this year, especially with the return of Klay. However, as minutes become more and more scarce on the Golden State roster, it’s safe to assume that if he can continue this high level of play he should see his spot in Steve Kerr’s rotation cemented.

In his post-game interview after the Dubs’ route of the Hawks, Payton spoke on the grind it took to get to where he now it. “It’s about damn time, I’ve just been scratching and clawing to just take advantage of it…and stick”. GP2 is hungry, as he mentioned, he has been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time. To see him finally fulfilling his own goals is special, and I am sure the Warriors organization is extremely happy to have him on this team, especially at such a low price point.

Last year, the Dubs had a tremendous amount of athleticism on their roster. However, it was easy to see that athleticism does not translate to winning games. With the addition of GP2, the team replenished some of that same athleticism they had last year while also gaining a lockdown defender in the process. Plus, his youthful presence and electric style of play are something that gives the fans and team something to rally around as he’s regularly featured in the major sports related social media pages like SportsCenter and House of Highlights.

Payton brings a different level of excitement to this Warriors team that has the nation focusing in on what he’ll do on the court(or who he’ll put on a poster) on a nightly basis, but he’s also able to back up the highlight-reel plays with lockdown defense and hustle plays at every turn. He says all the right things and is fitting in with this Warriors team just like a Glove, or a Young Glove.

(Photo credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)