The Last Dance

Angry Gary Payton Almost Called Up Jordan After ‘Laughing Scene’: “You Know I Was Hot”

Gary Payton was one of the best point guards to ever play the game. He is a one-time NBA champion, a nine-time All-Star, and a two-time All-NBA first teamer. Payton also made the NBA All-Defense First Team in 9 consecutive seasons and won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1996. Because of his elite and pesky defense, he earned himself a special nickname – ‘The Glove’. On top of that, Payton was one of the NBA’s biggest trash talkers, who, at times, wouldn’t shut up for one second of a game.

During an interview for ‘The Last Dance’, ESPN and Netflix’s join production about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Payton who was the catalyst of the defensive assignment, claimed that his defense took a toll on Jordan and caused the series to change.

But upon showing the same interview to Jordan, the six-time NBA champion laughed and said he didn’t have any problems facing The Glove. While Jordan laughing at Payton’s statement has become a meme in the meantime, Payton isn’t a fan of the scene, as you can imagine. In an appearance on the ‘Opinionated 7-Footers’ podcast, Payton said that he almost called up Michael Jordan to confront him about it.

“Oh you know I was hot. I was thinking about calling him at the time. … But you know what, that’s what I expect out of Mike because I would’ve said the same thing. I would’ve said the same thing. You know me, B. I’m not gonna admit to nothing, man. I’m not gonna admit to somebody that D’d me up or did nothing.

I’ll always tell you that any time in my career, nobody gave me problems but one person, and that’s John Stockton to me. That is just the way the game goes. I’m not mad at Mike because Mike didn’t have too many games that nobody D’d him up.”