Gary Payton II Locks Down Hornets In Warriors' 6th Win

The Young Glove is making it known that he earned that 15th roster spot. Payton II’s excellent performance, putting up 14 points (two of them coming at the expense of former Warrior Kelly Oubre Jr.), 5 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals and a monster block in the 4th, helped lift the Warriors over the Hornets earlier tonight. Payton was not only a great boon with his hustle and heart, but he also held LaMelo Ball to 14 points on 5-14 shooting (0-6 from downtown) to seal a convincing 20-point.

Payton II has always received some great praise for his defense, but his limited minutes this season are showing something incredible. GP2 has a 94.1 defensive rating. If he had the minutes played to qualify, that would be good for a tie in 4th with Nikola Jokic. The three players who would be ahead of him are Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Rudy Gobert. That’s two core members of the now-2nd best defense in the NBA in the Miami Heat, and a 3-time Defensive Player of the Year.

He played a season-high 17 minutes tonight, and earned some high praise from Steve Kerr after being +18 in his minutes. When prompted with the question of if Payton would be playing more minutes, Kerr gave an answer that left nobody doubting: “Yes”. To have the 15th man on the roster playing significant minutes and having a positive impact is a testament to the front office’s nose for talent, and even more of a testament to just how damn good this season’s team is.

The Warriors maintain a tie for the league’s best record at 6-1, and look to continue on their home-stand throughout the next week or so. Given Kerr’s comments and his play tonight, it’s a reasonable expectation to see more of GP2 on the court. The Poole-Payton back court was nothing short of stellar on a night where Steph Curry struggles from the field. It’s not a question of if, but when Steph gets his touch back. Although the Warriors shouldn’t be too concerned about their record in the hands of a bench that just scored 42 points in a game and a third-year player who shot lights-out against the guy that would’ve replaced him had the Warriors drafted him.

(Photo credit: Zach Beeker / Getty Images)