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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Gary Payton
Career at a glance
Gary Payton played 17 NBA regular seasons between 1990 and 2007, appearing in 1,335 games and averaging 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. He played for 5 teams: Seattle (1990–03, 999 games), Milwaukee (2002–03, 28 games), L.A. Lakers (2003–04, 82 games), Boston (2004–05, 77 games), Miami (2005–07, 149 games). His best scoring season was 1999–00 with Seattle: 24.2 points per game over 82 games.
The season table marks him as the league leader in steals once. Championship season: 2005–06 (Miami). In the playoffs he appeared in 15 postseason runs (154 games, 14.0 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 21,800 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total). Among the 404 players with at least 200 NBA games profiled on whynba, Payton ranks No. 23 in assists per game.
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Gary Payton
Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 17 seasons. Nicknamed "the Glove" for his defensive abilities, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time. He spent the majority of his career with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he holds franchise records in assists and steals, and later played short stints for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat. He made three NBA Finals appearances: with the Sonics in 1996, the Lakers in 2004, and the Heat in 2006, winning in the last.
Payton was the first (and, until Marcus Smart was selected in 2022, only) point guard to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. He was selected for nine All-NBA Teams, All-Defensive First Teams (tying the record), and All-Star Games each. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
- Born
- July 23, 1968 (age 58) Oakland, California, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
- Listed weight
- 190 lb (86 kg)
- Position
- Point guard
- High school
- Skyline (Oakland, California)
- College
- Oregon State (1986–1990)
- NBA draft
- 1990: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
- Playing career
- 1990–2007
Career highlights and awards
- NBA champion (2006)
- 9× NBA All-Star (1994–1998, 2000–2003)
- 2× All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000)
- 5× All-NBA Second Team (1995–1997, 1999, 2002)
- 2× All-NBA Third Team (1994, 2001)
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1996)
- 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1994–2002)
- NBA steals leader (1996)
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1991)
- NBA 75th Anniversary Team
- Consensus first-team All-American (1990)
- Pac-10 Player of the Year (1990)
- 3× All-Pac-10 (1988–1990)
- Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year (1987)
- Pac-10 All Defensive Team (1987)
- Pac-10 Rookie of the Year (1987)
- No. 20 retired by Oregon State Beavers
- USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1999)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990–91 | Seattle | 82* | 82 | 27.4 | .450 | .077 | .711 | 3.0 | 6.4 | 2.0 | .2 | 7.2 |
| 1991–92 | Seattle | 81 | 79 | 31.5 | .451 | .130 | .669 | 3.6 | 6.2 | 1.8 | .3 | 9.4 |
| 1992–93 | Seattle | 82 | 82 | 31.1 | .494 | .206 | .770 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 2.2 | .3 | 13.5 |
| 1993–94 | Seattle | 82* | 82 | 35.1 | .504 | .278 | .595 | 3.3 | 6.0 | 2.3 | .2 | 16.5 |
| 1994–95 | Seattle | 82* | 82* | 36.8 | .509 | .302 | .716 | 3.4 | 7.1 | 2.5 | .2 | 20.6 |
| 1995–96 | Seattle | 81 | 81 | 39.0 | .484 | .328 | .748 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 2.9* | .2 | 19.3 |
| 1996–97 | Seattle | 82 | 82* | 39.2 | .476 | .313 | .715 | 4.6 | 7.1 | 2.4 | .2 | 21.8 |
| 1997–98 | Seattle | 82* | 82* | 38.4 | .453 | .338 | .744 | 4.6 | 8.3 | 2.3 | .2 | 19.2 |
| 1998–99 | Seattle | 50* | 50* | 40.2 | .434 | .295 | .721 | 4.9 | 8.7 | 2.2 | .2 | 21.7 |
| 1999–00 | Seattle | 82 | 82* | 41.8 | .448 | .340 | .735 | 6.5 | 8.9 | 1.9 | .2 | 24.2 |
| 2000–01 | Seattle | 79 | 79 | 41.1 | .456 | .375 | .766 | 4.6 | 8.1 | 1.6 | .3 | 23.1 |
| 2001–02 | Seattle | 82 | 82 | 40.3 | .467 | .314 | .797 | 4.8 | 9.0 | 1.6 | .3 | 22.1 |
| 2002–03 | Seattle | 52 | 52 | 40.8 | .448 | .298 | .692 | 4.8 | 8.8 | 1.8 | .2 | 20.8 |
| 2002–03 | Milwaukee | 28 | 28 | 38.8 | .466 | .294 | .746 | 3.1 | 7.4 | 1.4 | .3 | 19.6 |
| 2003–04 | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 82 | 34.5 | .471 | .333 | .714 | 4.2 | 5.5 | 1.2 | .2 | 14.6 |
| 2004–05 | Boston | 77 | 77 | 33.0 | .468 | .326 | .761 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 1.1 | .2 | 11.3 |
| 2005–06† | Miami | 81 | 25 | 28.5 | .420 | .287 | .794 | 2.9 | 3.2 | .9 | .1 | 7.7 |
| 2006–07 | Miami | 68 | 28 | 22.1 | .393 | .260 | .667 | 1.9 | 3.0 | .6 | .0 | 5.3 |
| Career | 1,335 | 1,233 | 35.3 | .466 | .317 | .729 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 1.8 | .2 | 16.3 | |
| All-Star | 9 | 2 | 20.8 | .436 | .273 | 1.000 | 3.3 | 8.1 | 2.1 | .0 | 9.4 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Seattle | 5 | 5 | 27.0 | .407 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.6 | 6.4 | 1.6 | .2 | 4.8 |
| 1992 | Seattle | 8 | 8 | 27.6 | .466 | .000 | .583 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .3 | 7.6 |
| 1993 | Seattle | 19 | 19 | 31.8 | .443 | .167 | .676 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 1.8 | .2 | 12.3 |
| 1994 | Seattle | 5 | 5 | 36.2 | .493 | .333 | .421 | 3.4 | 5.6 | 1.6 | .4 | 15.8 |
| 1995 | Seattle | 4 | 4 | 43.0 | .478 | .200 | .417 | 2.5 | 5.3 | 1.3 | .0 | 17.8 |
| 1996 | Seattle | 21 | 21 | 43.4 | .485 | .410 | .633 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 1.8 | .3 | 20.7 |
| 1997 | Seattle | 12 | 12 | 45.5 | .412 | .333 | .820 | 5.4 | 8.7 | 2.2 | .3 | 23.8 |
| 1998 | Seattle | 10 | 10 | 42.8 | .475 | .380 | .940 | 3.4 | 7.0 | 1.8 | .1 | 24.0 |
| 2000 | Seattle | 5 | 5 | 44.2 | .442 | .391 | .769 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 1.8 | .2 | 25.8 |
| 2002 | Seattle | 5 | 5 | 41.4 | .425 | .267 | .586 | 8.6 | 5.8 | .6 | .4 | 22.2 |
| 2003 | Milwaukee | 6 | 6 | 41.8 | .429 | .067 | .700 | 3.0 | 8.7 | 1.3 | .2 | 18.5 |
| 2004 | L.A. Lakers | 22 | 22 | 35.1 | .366 | .250 | .750 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .2 | 7.8 |
| 2005 | Boston | 7 | 7 | 34.1 | .446 | .071 | .833 | 4.1 | 4.6 | .9 | .1 | 10.3 |
| 2006† | Miami | 23 | 0 | 24.3 | .422 | .293 | .720 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.0 | .1 | 5.8 |
| 2007 | Miami | 2 | 0 | 16.0 | .000 | .000 | – | 2.0 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 154 | 129 | 35.6 | .441 | .315 | .706 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 1.4 | .2 | 14.0 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986–87 | Oregon State | 30 | 30 | 37.2 | .459 | .371 | .671 | 4.0 | 7.6 | 1.9 | .7 | 12.5 |
| 1987–88 | Oregon State | 31 | 31 | 38.0 | .489 | .397 | .699 | 3.3 | 7.4 | 2.3 | .4 | 14.5 |
| 1988–89 | Oregon State | 30 | 30 | 38.0 | .475 | .385 | .677 | 4.1 | 8.1 | 3.0 | .6 | 20.1 |
| 1989–90 | Oregon State | 29 | 29 | 37.8 | .504 | .333 | .690 | 4.7 | 8.1 | 3.4 | .5 | 25.7 |
| Career | 120 | 120 | 37.7 | .485 | .369 | .684 | 4.0 | 7.8 | 2.7 | .5 | 18.1 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 4″
- Weight
- 190 lb
- Position
- Point guard
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1990
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 2
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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