Las Vegan Gary Payton II shines with G League’s South Bay Lakers

Las Vegan and South Bay Lakers guard Gary Payton II snickered Thursday before recalling an ultimatum his famous father, former NBA point guard Gary Sr., gave him before his senior year at Spring Valley High School.

“He said get a scholarship or get a job,” the younger Payton said with a grin.

Turns out he got both. First, the scholarship. Then, a job playing basketball.

Payton returned to Las Vegas with South Bay to play in the annual G League Winter Showcase this weekend at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The 6-foot-3-inch combo guard had 21 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals Thursday in a 119-103 loss to the Lakeland Magic — flashing the skill, athleticism and versatility he hopes will eventually help him stick in the NBA.

His coach, Coby Karl, said he thinks Payton already is an NBA caliber player.

“It’s dependent on fit and timing. He has the skills. He has the talent. He has the mentality,” Karl said. “He’s an elite athlete at the NBA level. He can do so many different things on the court.”

Payton, a charismatic 27-year-old, spent his formative years in Las Vegas overlooked and under-recruited. He graduated in 2011 and ventured to Westwind Preparatory Academy in Arizona for a year. Then Salt Lake Community College for two years. Then to Oregon State, where his father starred before embarking on a 17-year career that eventually ended with enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The younger Payton twice won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Honors and was twice named to the conference’s first team. But his professional pedigree and collegiate resume did not get him drafted in 2016, and he began his G League career the following fall with the Rio Grande Vipers. Steeled by his journey through prep school and junior college.

“It just helped me build that perseverance. That drive to keep going. Don’t stop,” said Payton, who spends his summers in Las Vegas. “It helped me in the long term.”

Payton has played in 32 NBA games since the 2016-17 season, averaging 3.1 points in 10.5 minutes per game. But most of his professional experience is in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd, Capital City Go-Go and South Bay, which acquired him via trade in October. He has blossomed with South Bay and is averaging a career-high 21.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 3.2 steals in 16 games.

He’s cerebral, sturdy and bouncy with an explosive first step and a competitive fervor. A streaky jumper is perhaps the only thing keeping him from the NBA, where 3-point shooting is increasingly valuable.

But Karl thinks it’s only a matter of time for Payton.

“He sees the game at a really high level, and he’s able to figure it out,” said Karl, whose father, George, coached Payton’s father with the Seattle SuperSonics. “There are guys at this level who have played in the NBA and can play in the NBA. And then there’s guys who will play in the NBA for a long time. Timing and fit (are) really, really important.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.