Fantasy sports platform Daily Fantasy hosts exclusive interview with ‘The Glove,’ who looks back at illustrious career, shares inspiration to young ballers
Daily Fantasy, the Philippines’ first officially licensed fantasy sports provider, treated basketball fans to an exclusive panel with 2006 NBA champion and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton during his fourth visit to the Philippines.
Alongside event host, radio DJ and podcast presenter Tin Gamboa, former professional player Jared Dillinger, and resident fantasy basketball expert Papi Roi, “The Glove” looked back at some of the most memorable anecdotes from his decorated 17-season career.
Payton, a nine-time NBA All-Star and nine-time All-Defensive First Team member, weighed in on the four-point line various basketball leagues and organizations around the world have been experimenting with. He firmly emphasized his opposition to changing the fundamentals of the game.
“You should only be able to shoot a three-pointer; that’s it. You get fouled on a three, you get a four-point play. That’s it. I don’t want that in the game. Now, we’re gonna start playing make-up games. You’re gonna mess the game up, and then it’s gonna be sloppy. I don’t want sloppy basketball. We don’t want to do all of that. Don’t put it in a game of 5-on-5,” he said.
This comes as the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced this year that it is considering adopting the four-point line, citing the evolution of the sport.
The legendary point guard also looked back on his career, sharing a humbling lesson from Michael Jordan during his rookie year with the Chicago Bulls.
“Guess who we play in the first game of the year? Michael Jordan. When I came out, he was like, ‘BJ (Armstrong), I’m guarding the rookie. That’s me. Nobody else guards him.’ Next thing you know, I entered the game and got into foul trouble real quick. Played almost 10 minutes, Jordan has 35, 36 points, and he comes over to me, ‘Welcome to the NBA, young fella. Don’t be talking about that preseason stuff.’ It was an eye-opener for me. That’s just the way it goes. You get humbled real quick,” Payton candidly recalled.
He lamented the change in the game’s intensity, specifically the loss of the trash-talking culture, a hallmark of his 2006 championship run with the Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal-led Miami Heat.
“Trash talking is not in basketball anymore. It’s not in sports anymore,” he said. “Now, what you see, the players yell. They’re not looking at anybody because it’s gonna be taunting, and they’re gonna be in trouble.”
Payton attributed this shift to the rise of social media and the increased scrutiny on athletes.
“They don’t want it in the game because kids are watching these athletes way too closely. When something happens in the NBA now, they’re reviewing it, then suddenly you’re up on the ‘tron, and then you’re a focal point on social media. They don’t want that to happen with kids.”
For aspiring basketball players, Payton shared some enduring advice from his college coach at Oregon State, the great Ralph Miller.
“I am never against learning anything, whether in business, in life, or in basketball. Kids have to understand there will always be someone greater. Work hard, keep learning, and soak up all the knowledge you can to become the best person you can be,” he advised. “If you think you’ve learned everything you could learn in any field, you should hang up your shoes.”
To celebrate his visit, Payton also drafted his ultimate five-man Daily Fantasy lineup, picking Tyrese Haliburton as point guard for his playmaking ability, Anthony Edwards as guard for his shooting prowess, Kawhi Leonard at small forward, praising his two-way dominance and game-changing defense, Anthony Davis at power forward commending his point making skills and defense, and Nikola Jokić at center for his rebounding, passing, and MVP-caliber impact.
During the interview, Payton also tried the local treat, halo-halo, and posed with Daily Fantasy’s honor players during a special meet-and-greet session.
For more information on joining the Daily Fantasy community and creating your NBA fantasy team, you may visit www.playdailyfantasy.com.
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Daily Fantasy is the first officially licensed platform in the Philippines, offering NBA contests to create fantasy basketball teams. All users can play Daily Fantasy on the web (https://lets.playdailyfantasy.com/) or app (https://www.playdailyfantasy.com/app/download). Daily Fantasy is a PAGCOR-licensed game with 24/7 customer support, available for deposit and withdrawal to level up the experiences of Filipino fantasy sports.
Basketball fans can now share the excitement of fantasy sports with their friends through Daily Fantasy’s new Referral Program. When a player invites a friend to join, both the inviter and the invitee receive 100 coins, giving them extra entry credits to jump into upcoming contests and start competing right away. For more information, visit www.playdailyfantasy.com.
