Ahead of His 10th Birthday Today, Noah and Gary Payton II Made a Lasting Connection
With a ferocious slam and a scratch of the head, he started to go viral.
He was wearing a number-0 jersey with a “Payton II” on his backside, but it wasn’t the Warrior guard – it was his biggest fan, 10-year old Noah.
Noah was in UCSF Children’s Hospital for his second stem cell transplant to treat his leukemia when his dad took a video of his right-handed slam on a NERF hoop. With a shooting sleeve on his right arm and a hand-crafted, toilet paper headband across his forehead, Noah then quizzically scratched his head, just as Gary Payton II did after a poster slam all over the Pacers’ Goga Bitadze on Jan. 20.
From there, his aunt Colleen Bryne took to social media, asking Golden State’s defensive stopper to give a shoutout to her nephew for Noah’s upcoming birthday. It was a big step for Noah’s mom Susan, who has been slow to share details about Noah’s illness and treatment, but was fine sharing the video on Twitter with the prospect of getting Payton II’s attention.
“We’re kind of private and we haven’t really shared a lot of Noah’s story with friends, and my sister is not private, and she (was like), ‘Let’s just try to make it go viral, maybe we can get (Payton II) to wish Noah a happy birthday,’” Susan said. “And this has been going on for so many years and we’ve been trying to keep it private, and I was at the point where I was like, if we can get Gary Payton to wish him a happy birthday, go for it.”
After all, the former Oregon State guard holds a special place in Noah’s heart. Much of what has endeared Payton II to Golden State fans this season has cultivated an admiration from Noah, which has trickled down to the rest of his family.
“For some reason, he is obsessed with Gary Payton, obviously (with) the way he plays defense, the way he can jump,” Susan said. “He's not so tall, but he can move mountains, and he’s just always in the right place. And I don’t know, our whole family, we’re just obsessed with Gary Payton for some reason.
Within 24 hours of his aunt’s post on Twitter, Noah was on Payton II’s Instagram account and got television coverage, but the best result came from “The Young Glove” himself.
Payton II surprised Noah with a visit Friday, with his aunt sharing another picture of a celebratory head scratch – this time with the Warrior guard at his side. According to Susan, Payton II’s grace and kindness with her son made the birthday surprise all the more special.
“Noah is super shy, but Gary Payton was just such a natural with him,” Noah’s mother said. “He just was super laser-focused on Noah, and really wanted to hear Noah’s story and look at Noah’s art – Noah’s kind of an artist, and he has a lot of pictures. And of course Noah wanted to play basketball with Gary Payton, and so they played a game of ‘PIG’. He was just completely genuine with my son, and told us about his family and wanted to know as much as he could about Noah, which was really amazing.”
The visit seemed to come at the right time for Noah and his family, as his mother said their collective mood had worsened with her son’s second transplant.
On top of that, the Warriors were in a cold stretch, compounding the situation as the team’s games are much of what keeps the family optimistic.
“This is our second transplant, he went through a transplant in less than a month the first time because he’s completely optimistic and he always has such a great attitude, he doesn’t get scared, he doesn’t get frazzled – unlike his mother,” Susan said. “We kind of turned into not a very happy family, and at that same time the Warriors were not doing well, and I was like at least win a game for us!”
Luckily for Noah, his favorite player was extremely generous with his time, and Payton II’s team started to turn things around.
“(The games are) everything when we’re in the hospital, that’s what keeps us going, the games,” Susan said. “And kid you not, the Warriors started turning it around this week and last week, and we have gotten some really good news and we’re hoping to get out of the hospital (soon).”
Noah’s mom reflected on the power of Payton II’s kindness for somebody with Noah’s illness, and the meaning of a memory ahead of his tenth birthday.
“I think that when you have leukemia, and you have an illness, it is so much about how you are emotionally, and that really can save your life … it has healing powers, that’s what I’m trying to say,” Susan said. “Noah (has been) through so much, and he is over the moon, he absolutely adores Gary Payton II.”
Happy 10th birthday from everybody at TheWarriorsTalk, Noah. We hope you have a great day.
(photo via Coleen Byrne)