Gary Payton: Sports Section Oldie but Goodie

I'm back with another week of the Oldies But Goodies Hall of Fame. This week it's Gary Payton, 38, of the Miami Heat to be inducted. Before we start with the induction I would like to mention a little about Gary. He is a great NBA players that has played for many teams including the, Seattle Supersonics, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Milwaukee Bucks. He has won the 1996 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Gold medal with the Men's' United States team.

Gary Payton has played point guard most of his career. Starting out at Skyline High School in Oakland, California. From there he attended Oregon State University. While there he was featured on the March 5, 1990 cover of Sports Illustrated magazine as the nation's best college basketball player. He was also an All-American in 1990; three-time All-Pac-10 selection, and named the Pac-10 conference's 1987 Freshman of the Year. He was the MVP of the Far West Classic tournament three times and was the Pac-10 Player of the Week nine times. He also was named to the Pac-10's All-Decade Team.

Payton was the second overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, and spent his first 12 and a half seasons with the Sonics. Entering the league with big star expectations, Payton struggled during his first two seasons in the league, averaging 8.2 points per game during that span. However, he soon proved himself to be one of the league's top point guards. While with the Sonics he was on the All-NBA Third team in 1994. He was selected to the All-NBA First-Team in 1998 and 2000, All-NBA Second Team in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2002, and All-NBA Third Team in 1994 and 2001. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team a record nine consecutive seasons too between 1994 and 2002, and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1996. To top it all off he has been selected to the NBA All-Star Team nine times, starting in two of his selections.