Gary Payton II

Payton went undrafted in 2016 and spent the next six years on five G League teams. Meanwhile, in Golden State, Curry drew even more attention, allowing non- ...

Iguodala missed 51, plus most of the NBA Finals. Kerr hasn’t had the stomach to allot significant minutes for their promising but undercooked rookies, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. “This year’s team is much better fit for him than last year’s team was and that’s why he’s been able to make such a big impact.” “If I need to know something in the game, or how to do something.” “You sort of look at him and … ‘Could they be the same?’ … I think that opened the creativity that we have here, that we were excited and open to try it.” With Klay Thompson out for the season, Curry’s gravitational pull alone wasn’t enough to unclog the paint and allow Payton an open path to the rim. “Here’s a guy who is in the 99th percentile as a defender and rebounder.” Popp says. “That was what determined it when all was said and done, that Gary would be a really good 15th man, short-minute guy.” Popp would run the team through rebounding drills that he stole from college legends like Tom Izzo and Jim Calhoun. The ball was “live” coming out of the basket, meaning it was up for grabs by the offense and defense. “A lot of young players who have those tools shy away from taking advantage of it because they’re afraid they’ll be labeled as a frontcourt player,” says Popp, now a coach at IMG Academy. “It’s so important to the insecure coach and the insecure player to market themselves at the position they think that’s advantageous for them to make millions, but the thing that got Bruce to this point was that he always just played to win.” “Guys are sent to us and the expectation is they need to play minutes. He learned to poke the ball away from behind dribblers right as they turn off picks; to swipe at a bouncing ball when it’s closest to the floor, a.k.a. farthest from the protective shell of the dribbler’s hand. He scored his first NBA basket on April 2, 2017, with the Milwaukee Bucks. The next season, they signed him to a two-way contract.