“The Glove” spent just a short time in Oregon but Gary Payton (born July 23, 1968) left behind great memories for Beaver fans on his way to a Hall of Fame pro career.
Payton grew up in Oakland, California where he was recruited primarily by St. John’s and Oregon State. Choosing between two great coaches, Louis Carnesecca and Ralph Miller, Gary and father Al, chose Ralph.
Payton’s arrival was perfectly timed. OSU needed a leader in the backcourt and coach Miller handed the keys to Payton early in his freshman year. For four seasons, Payton developed a reputation as a defensive genius. He singlehandedly erased a 7-point deficit in less than 30 seconds when the Beavers stole a Civil War victory at Mac Court in Eugene.
During his Beaver career, GP set the school record for points (2,172) field goals made (829) three-point field goals made (178) assists (938) and steals (321). His honors included Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, three All-Pac-12 honors, Player of the Year, three-time MVP of the Far West Classic and finally, the cover of Sports Illustrated as National Player of the Year in 1990.
In 1990, the Seattle SuperSonics made Payton the second pick in the NBA Draft. Payton played 11 seasons in Seattle, becoming a darling of Sonics fans. Seattle made the playoff ten times with Gary in charge including the epic 1996 season that featured 64 regular season victories and a thrilling NBA finals series against the Bulls. Gary started all 103 games. During that stretch he was named All-NBA 9 times, selected for 9 All-Star games, won two Olympic gold medals with team USA and was the first point guard to be selected win Defensive Player of the Year.
The honeymoon ended in Seattle during the 2003 season with a trade to Milwaukee. Payton then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and took another trip to the Finals again starting all 104 games. Gary played three more NBA seasons with the Celtics and Heat before retiring in 2007. He won his only NBA title with the 2006 Heat.
His NBA career numbers are immense: 1335 games, 21,813 points, 245 steals. Add to that, 154 postseason games and three trips to the NBA finals. He was inducted to the NBA Hall of Fame in 2013. Oregon State inducted him to its Hall of Fame and retired his No. 20. Two sons, Grandon and Gary II have both played professional basketball. Gary is an active supporter of Oregon State and Seattle basketball.
