2025-26 Season
GARY PAYTON II
2025-26 Season
GARY PAYTON II
II produces at an below average rate for a 16-minute workload.
II produces at an below average rate for a 16-minute workload.
PBP Credit: Every play is analyzed from play-by-play data. Scorers get difficulty-adjusted credit, assisters get creation value based on the shot opportunity they created, and turnovers are classified by type. Shot difficulty is derived from 1M+ shots across 4 seasons. Full methodology
TEAM COMPARISON
of 19 teammates (10+ games, 10+ min)
Similar Players
Same position, closest production profile this season.
SKILL DNA
Percentile rank vs 246 Guards with 10+ games
THE SEASON SO FAR
Gary Payton II spent the first quarter of the 2025-26 season battling irrelevance at the end of the bench, struggling to string together meaningful rotation minutes. He occasionally flashed his trademark grit, like on 11/20 vs MIA when he grabbed seven rebounds in 19 minutes to post a +3.5 Impact score despite scoring just seven points. That modest offensive output was salvaged entirely by his relentless pursuit of loose balls and disruptive perimeter defense. His absolute peak arrived on 11/30 vs NOP. Payton exploded for 19 points and 11 rebounds on highly efficient 9-of-14 shooting, generating a massive +17.7 Impact score by dominating the glass and finishing everything at the rim. Yet, even when his jumper fell, his overall effectiveness remained wildly inconsistent. On 12/03 vs OKC, he tallied 13 points and five assists, but hidden costs like defensive breakdowns and poor rotational awareness dragged him down to a -2.6 Impact score. Ultimately, brief flashes of two-way brilliance were completely buried under a mountain of scoreless, empty-calorie cameos.
Gary Payton II spent the middle chunk of the season riding a chaotic pendulum between vital energy guy and outright liability. During the 12/30 vs BKN matchup, he poured in 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in just ten minutes, yet still posted a -4.6 impact score because his complete lack of rebounding and defensive lapses bled points on the other end. He found much better ways to contribute without forcing his offense on 12/25 vs DAL. Despite scoring only six points, he dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds to secure a +0.7 impact score, generating value entirely through unselfish ball movement and hustle. His absolute peak arrived on 02/05 vs PHX, where he drilled three triples on his way to 15 points and eight boards. That explosive two-way effort yielded a massive +14.4 impact score, rewarding his aggressive perimeter shooting and relentless work on the glass. But the pendulum always swings back, as seen on 02/11 vs SAS. A brutal 4-for-11 shooting night dragged him to a -7.4 impact despite logging five assists, confirming that erratic volume shooting severely punishes his overall value.
This late-season stretch was defined by relentless rim pressure and bizarrely dominant rebounding from a bench guard, turning Payton into a chaotic two-way catalyst. He occasionally fell into the trap of perimeter tunnel vision, like during the 02/22 vs DEN matchup where his 15 points yielded a -1.1 Impact score because he settled for eight three-point attempts and failed to record a single assist. Yet when he embraced his role as a gritty interior presence, his value skyrocketed regardless of his scoring totals. Look at his performance on 04/02 vs CLE; he scored just 8 points, but his staggering 12 rebounds generated a massive +11.9 Impact score by securing extra possessions and terminating opponent attacks. He was even more lethal when he completely abandoned the three-point line to attack the basket. During the 03/23 vs DAL contest, Payton converted a flawless 8-for-8 from the floor to post 17 points and a +13.6 Impact score, punishing the defense with pure efficiency. While his energy visibly waned during a mid-April slump, his ability to swing games through pure hustle made him an indispensable rotation piece.
IMPACT TIMELINE
Game-by-game performance vs average. Green = above average, red = below.
Boom-or-bust player. II's impact swings wildly relative to his average — some nights dominant, others invisible. Scoring varies by ~6 points per game.
Reliable shooter — hits 45%+ from the field in 74% of games. You can count on efficient nights more often than not.
Good defender on his best nights, but it comes and goes. Some games II locks in defensively, others he gets picked apart.
Getting better as the season goes on. First-half impact: -5.0, second-half: +1.8. That's a significant jump — could be a role change, confidence, or development clicking.
Tends to go on runs. Longest hot streak: 15 games. Longest cold streak: 15 games.
MATCHUP HISTORY ⚠ Updated 46 days ago
Based on 75 games with tracking data. Shows who guarded this player on offense and who he guarded on defense, with their shooting stats in those matchups.
ON OFFENSE: WHO GUARDED HIM
His shooting stats against each primary defender this season
ON DEFENSE: WHO HE GUARDED
How opponents shot when he was the primary defender. Lower FG% = better defense.
SEASON STATS
GAME LOG
75 games played
