Over the course of his decorated, 17-year NBA career that ultimately landed him in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Gary Payton developed a reputation as a lockdown defender and ruthless trash talker.
The latter characteristic has stuck with the 56-year-old in his retirement, as he was caught on camera trading friendly barbs with Phoenix Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant from his courtside seat during the club's 130-105 win over the Golden State Warriors.
And Durant, not afraid to trade barbs with both fans and players alike, may have landed a verbal knockout punch with a savage line he uttered to Payton at the end of the third quarter. The video has since made the rounds on social media.
“By the time you was my age you was the 8th man on the bench.”
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 1, 2025
- KD to Gary Payton
(h/t @CardsCanyon) pic.twitter.com/50ZOvmWm0d
"By the time you was my age, you was the eighth man on the bench," Durant said to Payton.
And Durant may have a point. The 36-year-old Suns star is still at the top of his game, as he ranks fifth in the league in scoring and this past week was named an All-Star for the 15th time in his career. Meanwhile, Payton in his age-36 season was still a starting-caliber player for the Boston Celtics, though his averages of 11.3 points, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game pale in comparison to Durant's numbers.
After the game, Durant told reporters that his back-and-forth with Payton was "all love," and that he appreciates The Glove's "competitive edge." He added that Friday's animated exchange was a continuation of a dialogue between the two from this past summer.
While the basketball world will never know who would have emerged the winner in a matchup between Durant and Payton, the former may have gotten the better of the latter in this verbal encounter.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Hit Gary Payton With Ruthless Line During Trash-Talking Exchange.
