(Born July 23, 1968) “The Glove” spent just a short time in Oregon, but endeared himself to always be remembered as someone who made the state great.

Payton grew up in Oakland, California, then made his way to Corvallis and Oregon State, where he played under legendary coach Ralph Miller from 1986 to ‘90. In his days there, he developed a reputation as a defensive genius, and his overall game earned him the NCAA Player of the Year honor in 1990. During that time, the Beavers played in the NCAA Tournament three times, and became one of the nation’s top teams. The Beavers won the Pac-10 title in 1990, and he was named Sports Illustrated’s Player of the Year that season. He set OSU records for scoring, assists and steals.

In 1990, the Seattle SuperSonics made Payton the second pick in the NBA Draft. Payton played 13 seasons in Seattle before moving to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2003 season. He played two seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers, two for the Boston Celtics, then three seasons with the Miami Heat, where he won an NBA title in 2006.

Payton played in nine NBA All-Star Games and was an All-NBA selection nine times. USA Basketball named him Player of the Year in 1999, and he won two Gold Medals on the Olympic Team once professional players were admitted in 1996.

During his career in the NBA, Payton finished in the Top 10 all-time in games, and minutes played and with a scoring average of 16.3 points per game. 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.