There are a lot of times where players trash-talk one another during a basketball game. Usually, it’s just words to try and get under the opponent’s skin. However, there are definitely times where players get frustrated at the thing their opponents are saying.
Gary Payton has recently revealed that he actually likes when people talk trash to him and claimed that it makes him “even better”. There are certainly players who thrive off of that energy, as it gives them the fuel to play even harder. Gary Payton was notably known as one of the best trash talkers in the league as a player.
I like people to talk s*it to me. Cause it is what it is. Me, I don’t hold no grudges. I ain’t got no feelings about it. It makes me even better. You know what I’m saying?
Cause if you were with my mama last night and my wife, I was with yours too. You forgot, she didn’t call you for a long time. You know what I’m saying? She got in at 10:30 huh? Now you mad at me now, cause I know what time she got in.
There is no question that Gary Payton played during an era where heavy trash talk was commonplace. Payton had to face off against players like Larry Bird, who Payton himself called the “coldest dude” when talking trash. It makes sense that when one would trash talk you, you trash talk back, and Gary Payton was never the type of player to hold his tongue on the court.
During the modern basketball era, it is not often that we witness savage trash talk on the court. There are stars who enjoy doing it though, such as Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. Sometimes there’s a little jawing here and there between competitors, and that certainly adds to the atmosphere of the game.
