Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Former NBA player and legend Gary Payton has one piece of advice for young basketball players looking to make it in the Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League – you have to be rough and tough to get to the top.
Payton spoke to Aletihad on the sidelines of the final day of the League at the New York University campus in Abu Dhabi.
For the fourth season in a row, the platform for young basketball talent in the country was organised by Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and the National Basketball Association (NBA), with games for boys and girls starting in November and ending with summit clash games this week.
As has become tradition, the NBA arranged special appearances by famous players – this year it was Danny Green and Payton.
Asked how he raised his son – Gary Payton II – to be an NBA player like him, the 56-year-old dad and coach said: "In my time, growing up in Oakland, California, on the streets and stuff and doing playground basketball, it's a lot different from what it is now because they’ve got a lot of academic institutes, a lot of gyms and stuff like that. We didn't have that type of situation, you know what I'm saying?
"So when my son grew up, I wanted to always keep him out of that environment. He grew up in good things. But it was still rough because I wanted him to be rough. I always downgraded him. I always told him, ‘you've got to be tougher’. You've got to learn how to play the game and do the right stuff. And it worked out for him. He is a great kid," said the legend, who made a name for himself with the Seattle Supersonics.
He is still attached to the team, so much so that he is on a mission to bring the brand home after a commercially-forced move to make Oklahoma City its base. Payton Sr. also spends a lot of time doing charity and community-driven initiatives, a theme that resonates with Abu Dhabi, especially in the Year of Community.
The Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi is part of the NBA’s global youth basketball programme for boys and girls, focusing on teaching fundamental skills and core values of the game – teamwork, respect, determination and community – at grassroots level.
Yet, education and fitness also are paramount to the pursuit of greatness in basketball, as Payton will attest. Before turning pro, Payton starred at Oregon State University, where he still holds many records, just as he does for Supersonics.
Nicknamed "The Glove", he also was the first point guard to win the 1996 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, a record he held until Marcus Smart made it a two-person club in 2022. In all his 17 years as a pro, he missed only 25 games.
"The game is also different now. I think they don't play as much defence as we did. We were more physical than this era right now. And at my position, I think I just made it a point that I wanted to change the game. I wanted to play on both ends of the floor. And during that year of 1996 when I did that, I think I was just so dedicated.
"I think God gave me a lot of ability not to get hurt a lot. I didn't have a major injury. But I tell younger guys right now to keep yourself in shape. I think a lot of these kids now, they just think about all these [stretching exercise] bands. I think you've got to lift weights, to be strong. You've got to have a mindset."
Best known for his 13-year tenure with the SuperSonics, where he holds franchise records for assists and steals and led them to a NBA Finals appearance, Payton also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
But it could have all gone wrong while in high school like many children in Abu Dhabi. Despite his record-achieving feats, his grades suffered and was faced with a tough time to shift focus on academics, too. Payton rose to the challenge.
"I was ineligible for my whole 10th grade year, which hurt me. What it did was it made me think about what I was going to do after basketball if I didn't have basketball. So now in my life right now... I know how to manage a business. I got a lot of businesses. I don't let people take my money and stuff like that. So you got to understand that's what you want. You want to be knowledgeable. So I tell kids nowadays."
