Gary Payton is remembered fondly as ?the glove? and un-fondly as ?the mouth?. During the tenure of his 17 year career, Gary Payton was one of the most prolific 2-way guards of all time. Touted as the greatest defender ever, The Glove is the only point guard to ever win NBA defensive player of the year honors. Payton Ranks 3rd all time in steals, 7th in assists and 21st in points, passing Larry Legend on March 26 2007. Coupled with all of these professional accolades are the exorbitant amount of technical fouls the Mouth amassed during his career. Payton ranks 3rd all time in T?s trailing only Jerry Sloane and SHEED. Along with Payton?s impressive career numbers are his equally impressive lineup of signature shoes.
Paying homage to his moniker, Nike fabricated the Payton Zoom Flight in 1998 which featured a zip up glove like exterior. Following this entry, Nike dropped the Payton Zoom GP which featured a turn buckle strap to achieve that ?glove? like fit. In 2000 and 2001 Nike developed the GP II and III respectively, from which, many will recall the completely removable outer soul of the GP III. Payton?s nickname played a large role in the developmental features of the GP?s that Nike rolled out. 2004 saw the birth of Payton?s final signature shoe, the GP IV which marked the end of the Payton line. Payton continued to wear Nike and Jordan Brand in the twilight of his career. He was peeped wearing Player Exclusives of the Jordan XIX and XII in his finals campaign with the Lake Show in 2004. Without question, Payton left his mark on the NBA?s stat pages and sneaker heads closets? across the country.
| Nike Air Zoom Hawk Flight ’97 1996-97
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Nike Air Zoom Flight ’98 1997-98
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Nike Air Zoom GP ‘99 1998-99
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| Nike Air Zoom GP II ’00 1999-00
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Nike Air Zoom GP III ’01 2000-01
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Nike? Ultraflight ’03 2003-04
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| Jordan XIX PE ’04 2004-05
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Jordan II PE ’04 2004-05
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Jordan XII PE ’04 2004-05
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