“I actually look up to Alex Caruso a lot”: Gary Payton II open up about his time with the former Lakers guard in the G-League

Gary Payton II has had his fair share of struggles, but he’s finally getting recognized for the work he put in.

The Golden State Warriors have been the best team in the league this season – And Steph Curry is a large part of that success. But it is not just the big names that have been performing.

The role players have been amazing too – one of them is Gary Payton II. Son of the legendary Seattle Supersonics PG, Payton Jr. has struggled quite a bit in the NBA.

His career path is very similar to that of Chicago Bulls forward Alex Caruso, spending a lot of time in the G- League. Going undrafted in 2016, he joined the Houston Rockets and got waived 6 games into the pre-season. He then joined the Rio Grande Vipers, the South bay Lakers and moved around for almost half a decade until he finally landed at GSW.

He seems to have found a place in Steve Kerr’s side, getting regular minutes in a system that works. Intense on his defense, and a good driver to the rim. Gary shows hints of his game that he picked up from his father. Nicknamed “The Glove” it only made sense his son be good at defense too.

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Alex Caruso and Gary Payton II should be inspirations to young kids

Caruso and Gary shared time as teammates on the South Bay Lakers, both of them even played on the main team for as bit part players. The fact that such a big name superstar’s son took the long route and did not rest on his father’s laurels.

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