The Warriors faced the Rockets tonight and were delighted to have Draymond Green back in the rotation after seeing him sidelined due to a right ankle sprain. But they were still not at full strength.
While Jonathan Kuminga and De’Anthony Melton work on their return, the Warriors seem to have another addition to the list of their injured players as Gary Payton II hobbled back to the locker room after seemingly hurting his ankle during the game.
Payton seems to have landed uncomfortably on his ankle while gathering a rebound and looked ‘angry’ when he limped back to the Warriors’ locker room in the second quarter of the game.
GP2 left the game and went to the locker room in apparent pain pic.twitter.com/OD4h4VT0ix
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 27, 2025
He notched only one rebound and one assist in the five minutes he played tonight before this incident as the Warriors led the first half 59-47 against the Rockets. Payton did not return to the Warriors’ bench in the second half.
The Warriors PR later updated that Payton has suffered a left ankle sprain and will not be returning in this game. We will likely get more information from Steve Kerr on this injury after the game ends.
Unfortunately, Payton is recovering from a right peroneal contusion that he suffered in February 2025 and has a history of recurring issues with his ankle. Therefore, an additional injury to his left ankle is not a good sign for the veteran, who managed to stay healthy for the first 19 games of the season.
Despite playing limited minutes, Payton has featured in 18 of the Warriors’ 19 games this season before tonight (10-9 record). He has averaged 3.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in those 18 games while shooting 46.4% from the field. Hopefully, this is not a long-term setback for Payton and the Warriors.
The 32-year-old veteran recently replaced Draymond Green on the Warriors’ starting lineup when he dropped a career-high eight assists against the Jazz in their last game. Payton has always been a player who is ready to contribute from the bench at any point in the game.
In other news, the team recalled Kuminga, Melton, and Gui Santos from Santa Cruz, the Warriors’ G-League affiliate, just hours after assigning them for training purposes. They look to be on a strong trajectory to return to NBA action soon.
Both teams in this game got eliminated from the NBA Cup tonight after the Grizzlies beat the Pelicans 133-128 in overtime. Therefore, in effect, this game was just another regular season game.
