The Warriors defeated the Nuggets in Game 2. (1:45) The son of the legendary Seattle Supersonics Gary Payton was about to apply for a desk job in the video department at the time. Seven months ago. Gary Payton II has had a basketball career full of rejection. He spent five years in the NBA's G League after being cut from four teams in six years. He was cut again. The Golden State Warriors had an opening in the video coordination department, so he approached assistant coach Jama Mahlalela. He thought it was an opportunity to still contribute and participate. The full 30 for 30 library, premium articles from our NBA insiders, and more are available. You will be able to get everything on the Disney+ network if you sign up now. If I am cut, I will try to get that job. I was trying to stay out of sight. I would still be around the game, I could still help. And figure it out from there. But she had other plans. I talked to him about the criteria for the video room, which was a willing learner, someone who can get on the court still and play. And he says he will do that, and I don't want you to do that. You are not going to do that in the world. You are playing for your team. He was ready to adapt. In the second grade, he was diagnosed with a learning disorder that affects 10% to 15% of the U.S. population. Those with it struggle with a lot of things. After nearly two decades of learning to adapt in the face of adversity, Payton was signed to Golden State's 15th and final roster spot four days after his conversation with Mahlalela. He has become one of the best defensive guards in the sport after finding a home in the NBA. The triplets were made to read 30 minutes each night by their mother. The task was completed by Gary's brother, Julian, and sister, Raquel. Gary couldn't figure out why. He mumbled to himself as he tried to get through the pages. She told her son to speak clearly. Gary stumbled no matter how many times she reminded him. When Gary was in second grade, his teacher asked him to be tested for a learning disability. At first, she was defensive. She didn't want to think anything was wrong with her son. "I remember crying because I had been so hard on him." Gary couldn't read. He had a brain that swapped letters, particularly Ds and Bs. When he was asked to read out loud in class, he tried to remember which paragraph he would be assigned, so he could practice ahead of time. He had a hard time figuring out the order of the seasons. The family moved to Los Angeles after he was diagnosed. On the plane, her oldest son was crying. "He said, "I don't want to be dumb."" You learn differently. Gary says he struggled academically, but he was able to accept the difference. Gary says he was more embarrassed to ask questions and speak out in class because his classmates didn't know he had a disability. Gary struggled to understand concepts when teachers explained them. He asked follow-up questions after class. He wanted the concepts written out so he could see them. Gary was put in an academic tutoring program for young kids with learning disabilities after moving to LA. It was learned that their son was a visual learner. Gary had a knack for picking up new hobbies after watching them a few times. Gary told his teachers that if they could just write it out and show him, he would get it. He is still doing this today. He has to write it out when he needs to spell something, even if it is in the air or on his phone. The associate director of sports psychiatry says that the current understanding is that we all have preferences when it comes to learning. People who say they are visual learners tend to gravitate toward things that they can see. Gary and his mom watched his dad play many times. He would watch other games on his own. He would study them and pick out parts of their game that he liked. Gary says he incorporates moves he saw in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Gary says you can see what works and what doesn't. It is a big help. I think it is easier for me to visualize something and apply it to my game. I try to watch as much film as possible. His love for the game and the preparation it requires did not come naturally. The NBA playoffs began Saturday and run through June, when the league will crown a champion for its milestone season. Day 2 had the biggestTakeaways from Day 1
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Phoenix is better than you think
I wanted to get away from the sport because of who my dad is.
By middle school, he decided to try it.
The man was very lackadaisical, according to the man. You are either in or out. Are you playing or not? Are you serious?
Gary met with Darrel Jordan, a family friend and basketball coach, when he was a junior in high school. It was with Jordan that Gary started to improve his game.
Gary did not qualify academically after receiving three scholarship offers. He was filled with doubt when the voices from his childhood came back.
Gary arrived at Salt Lake Community College from Phoenix. He visited Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, in his sophomore season. The school was close to his parents in Oakland and it was one of the top teams in the West Coast Conference.
His dad asked him to hold off on making a decision on Saint Mary's because he wanted them to visit Oregon State, where he was an All-Pac-10 selection and conference Freshman of the Year in 1987. Craig Robinson made a pitch that made it hard for Gary to turn it down, that he could be the difference-maker that would bring OSU back to national prominence.
It worked. Gary became the first player in the history of the Pacific-12 to be voted the conference's defensive player of the year two times when he joined the Beavers.
The voice that filled him with doubt was the one that he had spent so much money on.
He says he didn't know what he was going to do after school.
Gary Payton II blocks a shot by Jokic to set up Otto Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer.
The Warriors trailed by eight points at the end of the first quarter in the second game of the series.
The Nuggets lead to double digits was extended by Bones Hyland, who pulled up near the top of the key. Jokic grabbed the rebound after his shot went off the rim.
As Jokic went in for the dunk, Payton came over the top and blocked his shot. Otto Porter Jr. corralled the loose ball, took it down the court and passed it to Andrew Wiggins, who fed it back to Porter for a 3, cutting the Nuggets lead to five and forcing Denver to call a timeout. Jokic didn't take kindly to the slap on the butt that was passed to him as he headed to the huddle.
Stephen Curry restrained the upset center, who is no stranger to meeting Payton at the rim, as he headed to the bench.
Jokic caught the ball outside the key in a February game. He faced a familiar foe with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
Jokic tried to back him down, but instead tried his patented one-legged fadeaway.
But as he rose, there was a man who swatted the ball away, and he was also matching the timing of the rise and the ball.
The ability to slow Jokic is a result of this.
Film doesn't lie, says Payton.
Jokic has mastered spinning off defenders, a move that has become a cornerstone of his offensive arsenal. Through the hours of film, they discovered how Jokic could be thrown off of his spin. They realized that it would present Jokic with a defense he rarely sees, and that it would not require him to fight through a lot.
The leverage he uses is against larger players. Learning and understanding how the game works is what it is all about. Knowing how he fits into the team makes a difference.
Most people will tell you that the basketball IQ of a player is what makes them special, and that is because of the way he studies the game.
There is no link between IQ and dyslexia, according to Dr. Dandekar. There is a misconception that success means you do everything well. Success is more about understanding what you do well, understanding what you don't do as well, and finding ways to help yourself in things that you aren't as strong at.
The Warriors have a commanding 2-0 lead over the Nuggets and have finally found success in the NBA.
They allow me to be me, says Payton.
He was about to be rejected for the seventh time in seven months, and the whispers of doubt would fill his mind again. He had no idea if he would be filling an opening in the Warriors lineup or in the video coordination department.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr says that he knows his path, his journey has been filled with adversity. He is just preparing for the next thing. He played so well for us, that was never going to happen.
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