Gary Payton II has been an important player for the Warriors ever since he has been back and healthy for the team. Due to all his amazing performances, he was even elected to start against LeBron James and the Lakers in Game 4, as the Dubs decided to go small. And yet, around the 6-minute mark, the man just decided to up and leave to the Warriors’ locker room, in the middle of the game, leaving fans around the world bewildered. What happened to Gary Payton II? Was he able to return to the game from it?
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What happened to Gary Payton II?
If you haven’t seen what happened already, just take a look at the clip in the tweet by BBallBreakdown below to take a look at the snippet in question from Game 4 of the Warriors vs Lakers.
Something happened with Payton, u can see him signaling to the bench… bad stomach? And Draymond makes the good pass to Phil Handy. pic.twitter.com/isNfzFGYeW
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) May 9, 2023
At the time, it looked like the man had either pulled a muscle or tweaked an ankle somehow. However, upon closer inspection, the real reason finally comes to the fore. And it is quite the weird one. Take a look at the tweet below by Darren Hupke to see what happened.
Gary Payton Jr throws up on the floor but saves it all in his mouth. Talent. pic.twitter.com/DwYA0LqXwb
— Darren Hupke – Writes about retro games (@darrenhupke) May 9, 2023
His puking in his mouth and keeping it that way before rushing to the locker room makes far more sense than most other possible explanations here. However, it must be noted that there has been no official word on the matter just yet. Still, it is likely that Payton simply threw up in his mouth, nothing more. And thankfully for the Golden State Warriors, he soon returned to the bench for them, ready to play once again.
