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Gary Payton

Rocky Relations



Payton and the SuperSonics seemed destined to part ways after the 2001 season. Despite having plenty of good players, the team never seemed to be able to jell into a championship-winning organization, and Payton was getting frustrated. With a limited number of years left to play, he wanted the Sonics to either get serious about winning or trade him to a team that was. The Sonics would have been happy to trade him, but between the NBA's salary cap and Payton's impending free agency (his contract was set to expire at the end of the 2002-03 season), no deals could be reached and Payton was forced to return to a weak Sonics team.



Career Statistics

Yr Team GP Pts FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG TO PF
SEA: Seattle SuperSonics.
1990-91 SEA 82 588 .450 .077 .711 2.9 6.4 2.0 180 249
1991-92 SEA 81 764 .451 .130 .669 3.6 6.2 1.8 174 248
1992-93 SEA 82 1110 .494 .206 .770 3.5 4.9 2.2 148 250
1993-94 SEA 82 1349 .504 .278 .595 3.3 6.0 2.3 173 227
1994-95 SEA 82 1689 .509 .302 .716 3.4 7.1 2.5 201 206
1995-96 SEA 81 1563 .484 .328 .748 4.2 7.5 2.9 260 221
1996-97 SEA 82 1785 .476 .313 .715 4.6 7.1 2.4 215 208
1997-98 SEA 82 1571 .453 .338 .744 4.5 8.3 2.3 229 195
1998-99 SEA 50 1084 .434 .295 .721 4.8 8.7 2.2 154 115
1999-00 SEA 82 1982 .448 .340 .735 6.4 8.9 1.9 224 178
2000-01 SEA 79 1823 .456 .375 .766 4.5 8.1 1.6 209 184
2001-02 SEA 82 1815 .467 .314 .797 4.9 9.0 1.6 209 179

Chronology

1968 Born July 23 in Oakland, California
1986-90 Attends Oregon State University
1990 Drafted second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics
1996 Establishes the Gary Payton Foundation for underprivileged children
1996 Plays in the NBA finals against the Chicago Bulls
1999 Publishes a children's book, based on his life, Confidence Counts

Awards and Accomplishments

1990 Named Sports Illustrated's College Player of the Year
1994-98, 2000-01 Selected for the All-Star Team (as a starter in 1997 and 1998)
1994-2001 Selected to the All-Defensive First Team
1996, 2000 Earns gold medal in Olympics (with Team USA)
2000 Mayor of Seattle declares June 6 Gary Payton Day

When the Sonics started to struggle in the middle of the 2002-03 season, rumors about impending trades began to circulate again, and it seemed highly unlikely that Payton would be playing in a Sonics uniform in the 2003-04 season. Payton's contract would be expired, and the Sonics seemed unwilling to re-sign him even if Payton wanted to remain. Sonics general manager Rick Sund told Seattle Times reporter Percy Allen that the team was focusing on "rebuilding." He explained, "We try to use the word transition, but we recognize that we've really emphasized the youth (movement) the last two years."

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsBasketballGary Payton Biography - One Tough Player, Playing In The Nba, Olympic Victories, Rocky Relations, Career Statistics - CONTACT INFORMATION, SELECTED WRITINGS BY PAYTON: