Gary Payton Biography

Fast Facts

• Captured a gold medal at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games
• Nine-time All Star during his 13-year career in the NBA
• Won an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat in 2006
• Hosts a weekly radio show in the California Bay Area and a weekly program on TSN in Canada
• Author of "Confidence Counts", which is an autobiographical children's book
• Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 along with Rick Pitino, Jerry Tarkanian, Bernard King, Richie Guerin, Roger Brown, Oscar Schmidt, Guy Lewis, Dawn Staley, Sylvia Hatchell, E․B․ Henderson and Russ Granik
• Named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team nine consecutive times, tying Michael Jordan for the most consecutive selections
• Spent 13 seasons in the NBA with the Seattle SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat
• Established the Gary Payton Foundation in 1996 to help underprivileged youth pursue their goals
• Drafted in the first round (second overall) of the 1990 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics