Here Is Gary Payton's All-Time Starting Five

Long before Gary Payton II teamed up with Steph Curry on the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 championship squad, Gary Payton Sr. got the chance to share the court with NBA legends across two decades. It would be fascinating, then, to hear the elder Payton make his picks for his all-time NBA starting five.

Payton did exactly this during a visit to the Philippines on September 12. During a meet-and-greet with fans, The Glove was asked to handpick five NBA players who would form his dream team. His choices were interesting, to say the least.

To begin with, Payton chose himself. “If you want me to put myself in there and I really don't put myself in there, I'll be at the point,” he told fans.

This appears to be somewhat of a self-serving opinion, but Payton does have the numbers and accolades to back up his extreme confidence. In his 17-year career, the 6-foot-4 floor general averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. Payton’s résumé includes nine All-NBA selections, nine All-Star nods, nine All-Defensive Team appearances, and a spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.

Toward the end of his career, Payton won his lone NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. His next two picks, meanwhile, won a combined total of 11 NBA titles.

“The two, I'd probably put Michael Jordan. The three, I'd put Kobe [Bryant],” Payton told fans in Manila.

These are hardly surprising picks, as both Jordan and Bryant figure heavily in GOAT discussions. It’s also interesting to note that Payton has a connection with both iconic players when it comes to the NBA Finals.

Back in 1996, Jordan was crowned NBA MVP while Payton was named Defensive Player of the Year. The two would square off on the biggest stage as Jordan’s Chicago Bulls took on Payton’s Seattle SuperSonics in the championship round. Jordan and his Bulls squad eventually captured the NBA title in Game 6.

Eight years later, Payton joined forces with Bryant on a Los Angeles Lakers squad worthy of the moniker “superteam.” Together with Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone, Payton and Bryant went all the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost in five games to a scrappy Detroit Pistons team.

Payton rounded off his dream team by picking another former teammate of his, along with a legendary name from the ’60s.

“The four, I'd put Shawn Kemp and I would have to always do this for center, I'd put Wilt Chamberlain,” he said on September 12.

Kemp is not a name that usually gets thrown around in debates about the best big man ever. Still, Payton has good reason to pick his teammate of seven seasons, a 6-foot-10 behemoth who garnered six All-Star selections and three All-NBA Second Team nods.

As for Chamberlain, he was one of the most feared and prolific centers in the history of the sport. Averaging 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds per game in his NBA career, Chamberlain still holds the single-game scoring record to this day, putting up a mind-blowing 100 points in 1962.

It’s hard, then, to argue with Payton over any of his picks in this list. With three players who have a strong case for GOAT consideration and a power forward whose game he is familiar with, Payton chose a great team that could take on just about any other quintet in league history.