Golden State Warriors’ standout Gary Payton II has revealed the current state of the relationship between his father and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan. Gary Payton Sr. and his Seattle Supersonics reached the NBA Finals in 1996, going against the all-powerful Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan.
The sixth episode of last year’s docu-series award-winning The Last Dance talked about the Bulls’ fourth championship, which they won against the Sonics. Initially, the Bulls had taken a 3-0 lead, which prompted George Karl to make a big change, putting Gary Payton to guard Jordan.
The former point guard revealed his strategy when facing Mike, pointing that he tried to wear him out throughout the game.
“A lot of people backed down to Mike, I didn’t,” Payton said. “I made it a point, I said, ‘Just tired him out. Tire the f–k out of him. You just got to tire him out.’ And I kept hittin’ him and bangin’ him and hittin’ him and bangin’ him. It took a toll on Mike. … And then, the series changed.”
MJ wasn’t having any of that and actually laughed when listening to what Payton said. He explained that there were more things in his mind other than GP guarding him, dismissing Payton’s claims.
“The Glove … I had no problem with The Glove,” Jordan said of the elder Payton. “I had no problem with Gary Payton. I had a lot of other things on my mind.”
Gary Payton thought he found a way to get to MJ … Mike wasn't sweating the Glove 😂 #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/Z8NG7qN5hW
— ESPN (@espn) May 11, 2020
After all these months, fans wonder if the former rivals are cool now, but there’s nothing to worry about according to Gary Payton II. The Warriors player recently claimed that his old man and Jordan have the biggest respect for one another off the court.
“No, I know the battles between them,” Payton II said on 95.7 The Game’s “Morning Roast,” via Yahoo Sports. “It’s so much respect between them. But on the court, you got a job to do. Between those lines, we ain’t got no friends. I know they got so much respect off the court.
“It is what it is, it went down how it went down.”
Jordan and Payton were fierce competitors and even after they retire from the game, the two legends have kept that energy. Still, those showdowns are part of the past; they enjoyed those moments, fought hard to get the wins, but it’s just that.
MJ and GP are two of the greatest defenders this game has seen and they’ve shown respect to each other more than once. Now that Payton II confirmed things are fine between them, any rumor of a beef died.
