As far as talking on the court was concerned, the whole family was behind me on that. Gary Payton Read Quote
I was really scared when I went to Oregon State. I wasn’t sure I could play at the college level. Gary Payton Read Quote
To go into Key Area every day, sold out, it was hard to come in there and get a win against us. That’s when we used to make people understand, you can’t come in and get a win against us. We were probably one of the hardest arenas to win in. Our fans were crazy. They would camp out. Gary Payton Read Quote
I would go after any rookie. Any rookie with a lot of hype. I used to do it to Jason Kidd. I would go at him. I’d be like, ‘Young fella, you’re going to get a rude awakening in the NBA.’ Gary Payton Read Quote
Every rookie that thought they was good, I went at them to make sure they knew I was the best point guard in the league, and they had to go through me. That’s just the way I was. Gary Payton Read Quote
I became real good friends with John Stockton and Karl Malone and am still good friends with them to this day. It was always good to go see them and then play with them in the 1996 Olympics as well. I idolized John Stockton at the time, I tried to model my game after him. Gary Payton Read Quote
The thing that I regret is not having better relationships with a lot of people. Being the hard-nosed guy that I was, I think I could’ve come off a little bit better in my relationships with a lot of people, and I didn’t. Gary Payton Read Quote
I got suspended from school once, and my dad came to the school and whooped me in front of everyone. I didn’t want that to happen again, didn’t want to be embarrassed like that. The guys that I ran with, they respected that and respected my dad too. Gary Payton Read Quote