Gary Payton Bio: Wife, Education & Net worth

Gary Payton is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Miami Heat. He is regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time.

Payton is known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he holds franchise records in assists and steals.

Gary also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat.

Having played in the NBA for almost two decades and starring in some movies, Payton had a very successful career. 

Today, we will be talking more about Gary Payton, from his personal life, growth, family, and relationship, to his incredible journey.

So let’s begin with some quick facts. 

Quick Facts

Early Life & Education

Gary Payton was born Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. on July 23, 1968, to father Al Payton and mother Annie Payton in Oakland, California.

His parents always encouraged him to pursue his dream. After attaining his high school education, Payton went to Oregon State University in Corvallis to complete his further education.

We could not find any other details about his childhood. However, Payton developed much of his interest in basketball during his childhood years.

Payton has a brother and sister, namely Brandon Payton and Sharon Payton. His brother, Brandon, played for the Manawatu Jets in New Zealand.

Age & Body Measurement

The former star player is 55 as of 2024. But he still has maintained an incredible physique and looks robust.

According to horoscope charts, Payton is Leo, and from what we know, the people of this sign are known to be ambitious, dynamic, passionate, and talented at the same time.

Similarly, Payton stands at 1.93 meters and weighs around 190 lb. His other body measurements are unknown at the moment.

Other than that, Payton is bald and has dark brown eyes.

College & Professional

College Career

Gary attended OSU and played basketball for his college, where he was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time All-Pac-10 selection, and conference Freshman of the Year in 1987.

When his grades started dropping in his sophomore year, he was declared academically ineligible.

His father encouraged him to pay more attention to his studies; only then would he allow Payton to play again.

During his graduation, Gary held the school record, which he still has today, for points, field goals, three-point field goals, assists, and steals.

Payton was MVP of the Far West Classic tournament three times, the Pac-10 Player of the Week nine times, and was named to the Pac-10’s All-Decade Team.

Moreover, in his OSU career, he made three NCAA tournament appearances and one NIT appearance and got elected into the OSU Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

He became one of the most eminent basketball players in school history throughout his four years at OSU.

Payton also got featured in the cover story of Sports Illustrated during his senior year as the nation’s best college basketball player on March 5, 1989-90.

Professional Career 

While playing, Payton was one of the strongest defenders in the NBA. He started his basketball journey through SuperSonics Seattle after being drafted in the 1990 NBA Draft.

Payton was selected as the 2nd pick by the Seattle SuperSonics and stayed for 13 seasons with the team.

He recorded the first double-doubles in his third game after recording 13 points and ten assists in a win over the Nuggets.

Besides, he also recorded his first career triple-double after recording 18 points, 11 assists, and ten rebounds in a losing effort to the Suns.

2002-2005

Payton was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Desmond Mason in exchange for Kevin Ollie, Ray Allen, and Ronald Murray in the middle of the 2002-03 season.

He played the remaining 28 games with the Bucks.

Payton, along with Karl Malone, signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in their first NBA Championship.

Malone, O’Neal, and Bryant were injured throughout the season; even then, the Lakers won 56 games and the Pacific Division.

Before the 2004–05 seasons, he was traded to the Boston Celtics. Payton started all 77 games for the Celtics.

Besides that, Payton reunited with Walker and former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal and signed a one-year $1.1 million contract with Miami.

Payton Served as a backup to Jason Williams and started 25 of 81 games.

2006-2013

In 2006, Payton re-signed with the defending champion Miami Heat on a one-year, $1.2 million contract.

During the subsequent 2006–07 NBA season, he climbed up several NBA all-time lists to become the 21st-highest scorer in NBA history.

After his retirement, Payton worked for NBA TV as an analyst and joined Fox Sports 1’s Fox Sports Live as an analyst in 2013.

He provided weekly picks for Sports Betting Dime for the 2016 NFL season.

Gary Payton Movies

Payton has made appearances in many movies.

He first appeared in White Men Can’t Jump, Eddie, Like Mike, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, and also did a voice-over in the 1999 comedy film The Breaks.

Also, he appeared on The Jamie Foxx Show and Onion SportsDome. 

Salary & Income

Gary Payton was one of the highest-paid athletes while he played in the NBA.

He has a net worth of $50 million as of 2024, making him one of the wealthiest former basketball players. 

With Houston Rockets, he pocketed $581,305, and $1,059,707 with the Washington Wizards.

The former NBA player earned around $104 million in salary during his career and made millions more from endorsements. Payton also owns a line of clothing, Glove Wear.

Apart from his basketball career, Gary earns a considerable deal of money through sponsorships and endorsement deals. 

Charity

Gary Payton believes in giving back to society and has made plenty of contributions of both time and money to the community.

He had set up The Gary Payton Foundation in 1996 to provide safe places for recreation to help underprivileged youth in his hometown Oakland.

He also hosts an annual charity basketball game as part of his foundation.

In 2001, Payton donated his big grant of $100,000 to renovate EOYDC’s gym in his hometown Oakland.

He and his former wife are active in fundraising endeavors for HIV awareness.

Similarly, Payton has contributed to the Boys &Girls Club of America and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

He also wrote a children’s book, Confidence Counts, as part of the “Positively for Kids” series.

Wife & Kids

Gary Payton married Monique James on July 26, 1997.

They had been together for about ten years and even had two children named: Gary Payton II and Raquel Payton. 

Unfortunately, they divorced in early 2012. But, the exact reason behind their divorce is unknown.

Payton has another son named Gary Payton Jr. from a different mother.

This former basketball player is often humorously compared to the basketball version of George Foreman for naming his sons after his name.

Payton II followed his father’s footsteps and is pursuing basketball and is currently playing for the Golde State Warriors. 

Gary Payton II

Gary Payton II debuted in NBA in 2016, and since then, he has played for teams like Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Washington Wizards.

He received his first NBA Championship ring on January 1, 2023, with the Golden State Warriors. 

Gary Payton II always wanted to be with the Warriors playing in front of Dub Nation. He said there is nothing like the Warriors organization after his practice.

He was traded back to the Warriors after seven months with the Portland Trail Blazers, reportedly on February 23, 2023.

Awards & Achievement

Without a doubt, Gary Payton is one of the greatest basketball players and has a long list of achievements.

Payton’s determination, hard work, techniques, and playing skills have gained tremendous awards & achievements. 

In 1996, Payton won his first Olympic gold medal. Furthermore, Payton’s jersey number 20 was retired by Oregon State Beavers.

His team won another gold medal in the 2000 Olympics.

He was an NBA champion in 2006 with the Miami Heat.

To mark his contributions, the Seattle Mayor’s Office declared June 6, 2006, Gary Payton Day.

On September 8, 2013, Payton got inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Some of his achievements are listed below.

• USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1999)
• No. 20 retired by the Oregon State Beavers
• 3× All-Pac-10 (1988-1990)
• Consensus first-team All-American (1990)
• NBA 75th Anniversary Team
• NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1991)
• NBA steals leader (1996)
• 9×NBA All-Defensive First Team (1994-2002)
• NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1996)
• 2× All-NBA Third Team (1994-2001)
• 5×All-NBA Second Team (1995-1997, 1999, 2002)
• 2×All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000)
• 9× NBA All-Star (1994-1998, 2000-2003)
• NBA Champion (2006)

Social Media Presence

Gary Payton is quite active on his social platforms and occasionally posts pictures on his Instagram and Twitter.

He also has an official Twitter (@GaryPayton_20) for his business, “The NEW Official BUSINESS PAGE Gary Payton,” with 7088 followers.

Instagram (@gary.payton.20): 439k followers

Twitter (@GaryPayton): 135.6k followers

Popularity Graph

Gary Payton is a former basketball player. Basketball Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich called him “probably as complete a guard as there ever was.”

The popularity graph shows the wavelength from the last twelve months.

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