It should not have taken six years for Gary Payton II to stick on an NBA roster.
Not for a guy who just changed the NBA Finals after quickly “recovering” from a broken elbow.
But in a 107-88 win over the Boston Celtics, evening the Finals at a game apiece, Payton II reminded the Warriors of their defensive identity and contributed positively — as he does just about always — in typically unrelenting fashion.
It was the loudest 7-point, 3-rebound, 3-assist night you’ll ever see.
There was a fundamental shift in the series on Sunday night, which is to say, this thing is still probably going seven games.
But the impact from the son of The Glove reaffirmed his family legacy while continuing to write his own story. His identity is of an unabated fearlessness, a never-tired persistence in all facets of the game that makes everything a hell of a lot easier for his teammates.
Payton II also has things that could be hastily characterized as intangibles.
It’s not totally inaccurate, but what he does on the floor is more than those difficult-to-explain, esoteric in-betweens. At a macro level, he is a decided winner. He is a player who consistently affects the game in a positive way.
But the fact his contributions haven’t always been so explicit is part of why it took him this long to get here.
He was cut before the season by the Warriors and asked for a job in the team’s video department. Payton II pleaded with General Manager Bob Myers to be allowed to continue working out with the team. Eventually, he got his chance and a long-overdue guaranteed contract.
There’s a traditionalist lens that at least explains why he bounced around from place to place and had to claw through the ranks of the G-League.
He’s a 6’3″ guard who was a 27.4 percent 3-point shooter in the G-League and 25.6 percent in his 61 NBA games before landing in Golden State.
There aren’t too many teams pressing “buy” on a guard who can’t shoot.
But the modern NBA is so torturously obsessed with shooters that the counter, as both Finals teams continue to show, is long, aggressive, intelligent defenders who can switch and defend all five spots on the floor.
Payton II is the perfect utility tool for this league. He has the requisite physicality, athleticism, intelligence and unteachable drive to put himself in positive positions. He’s an explosive cutter, a dynamic rebounder, and bonafide guard-all-five defender.
His movement off the ball, understanding of the Warriors’ scheme and ability to facilitate incisively makes him a consistent asset on the end you’d say he’s weakest.
It’s not always capable of quantitative measurement, but what he made painstakingly obvious Sunday is that he unlocks the Warriors’ fullest potential.
He’s the WD-40 of the team, greasing up the wheels that seemed a tad stiff on Thursday night.
Draymond Green acknowledged afterwards that the Warriors didn’t enter the series with the right mentality.
“I think it was definitely an attitude adjustment,” Green said. “We didn’t play with enough force for the full 48 minutes.”
Payton II doesn’t know how to play without that force.
“He’s a guy that’s able to defend multiple positions,” said Kevon Looney. “We are able to play small lineups with him because he’s able to rebound so well. He kind of brings a different type of energy. He springs in transition, he’s a lob threat.
“We missed him in the last series and in the first game, so having him back out there was great because he just is a disruptor. You know, he plays well out of the dunker. He just provides a lot of things that we don’t have.”
Payton II’s impact shouldn’t even be that surprising given who has continually showed himself to be. He’s the soft-spoken, witty, way-too-likable guy who steps on a court and turns into a muscled-up Energizer bunny.
He rendered concerns about a broken elbow — a fairly important body part for a basketball player — just about moot.
The man simply does not have an off button. Moments before Jordan Poole hit the exclamation point of the night (which allowed Stephen Curry to sit for the entire fourth quarter) on a 39-foot three to end the third, Payton II was encouraging him.
On the prior possession, Payton II was right alongside Steve Kerr at half court, demanding Poole get out closer to his matchup and get his arms up to cause havoc in the passing lanes.
There’s no taking it easy with Payton II. Bum elbow be damned, he sparked the Warriors to hit the Celtics with a series-evening riposte.
We have every indication that those blows will not cease in this series. But Payton II clearly knows how to eat a few punches and tends to come back harder with his own. He has provided Golden State with the utilitarian weapon they’ve missed, and might just have snapped them alive.