appeared in many movies and television shows, and in 2001, gave a humorous, televised "motivational speech" to his team during the NBA All-Star Game. Playing style Payton's nickname of "The Glove" in reference to his defensive skills was popularized during the 1993 Western Conference Finals series against Phoenix. Since Payton's career ended in 2007, he has been mentioned among the all-time greatest point guards. Gail Goodrich, who played with Hall of Fame guard Jerry West, said "Gary Payton is probably as complete a guard as there ever was." Kevin Johnson considers Payton "certainly...amongst the best ever" and "just as intimidating...maybe even more so than all-time greats Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Tiny Archibald, and Maurice Cheeks." When asked to classify the best players in each position of the late 1990s and early 21st century, NBA coach George Karl said of Payton, "I don't know who else you'd take at point guard. Some say Jason Kidd. Well, every time Gary went nose-to-nose with Kidd, Gary won that matchup." Payton's all-time rankings for points (35th) and assists (11th) highlight the tremendous offensive contributions he made throughout his career, but he is most widely recognized for his defensive contributions. The Sporting News said in 2000 that Payton was "building a case as the best two-way point guard in history", and asked "If you weigh offense and defense equally, is Payton the best ever?" When comparing Payton to the all-time greats, it has been said that "Payton arguably is the best defender of them all, and his offensive game is better than most." His defensive prowess was once described by Kevin Johnson:"You think of guys with great hands, like Maurice Cheeks and Derek Harper. Gary is like that. But he's also a great individual defender and a great team defender. He has all three components covered. That's very rare." Offensively, Payton was not a particularly strong shooter, but was much more physical than most point guards of his era, preferring to use his body frame and strength to shield defenders on his way to the basket or posting up his opponent in an isolation play. Nonetheless, in his prime, Payton was the "NBA's reigning high scorer among point guards." He was the only guard to have won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award since Michael Jordan in 1988, until Marcus Smart received the award in 2022. Also, he, Jordan, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe