Gary Payton: Draymond Green ‘Reminds Me of Myself’

Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton sees a kindred spirit in Draymond Green.

The Glove, one of the greatest trash-talkers in NBA history, wants the All-Star forward to tone down some of his act.

Payton is especially fond of Green’s passion and defensive chops.

Per CSN Bay Area:

“I like it,” Payton said Tuesday, as a guest on The Warriors Insider Podcast. “I don’t care what they say. I think he gets overboard a little bit, but I like what he does. He reminds me of myself when I was doing it. I would control it a little bit; I would get a tech and I’d get the referees to get on my side after a while.

 

“But I still love it, because he has a lot of fire and a lot of passion in the game. And when he does that, he takes people out of their basketball game. And then they worry about him.”

 

“He takes on the challenge to guard everybody,” Payton said of Green, comparing him to Hall of Fame forward Dennis Rodman. “(Green) is not scared of nobody. I don’t know if he can guard 94 feet, but when you get him in the half court he’s a very difficult player to get around.”