Gary Payton Continues Trash Talk With Kevin Durant, Claims He Would Beat Suns Star 1v1

The Hall of Fame point guard has gotten acrimonious with the MVP power forward.

Feb 28, 1997; Miami, FL; USA; FILE PHOTO; Seattle SuperSonics guard Gary Payton (20) attempts a shot against Miami Heat forward Jamal Mashburn (24) at the Miami Arena. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-Imagn Images / RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Hall of Fame former NBA point guard Gary Payton has gotten into it once again with one-time MVP Phoenix Suns power forward Kevin Durant.

While sitting courtside for a clash between his son Gary Payton II's Golden State Warriors and the Suns late last month, the elder Payton started talking trash to Durant.

Read More: Gary Payton, Kevin Durant Engage in Massive Trash Talk During Suns vs Warriors Game

Hilariously, the 36-year-old Durant trolled Payton for his more rapid decline during his time in the league.

“By the time you was my age you was the 8th man on the bench.”

- KD to Gary Payton

(h/t @CardsCanyon) pic.twitter.com/50ZOvmWm0d

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 1, 2025

“By the time you was my age you was the 8th man on the bench,” Durant chirped at Payton.

After the game, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN, both players claimed that the exchange was all in good fun.

"It's always good when I run into an older player, especially if they played in the '90s, because they feel like that's the golden years of the NBA," Durant said. "So I try to let them know, especially GP, I try to let them know what it would have been like if they'd have been on the court with me. They tend to talk down on the mentality of our era's players."

Given that Payton has the added perspective of having both played in the league and now served as the dad for a modern player, he among his generation has enjoyed something of a unique angle.

Payton claimed he was "just talking junk" when asked by ESPN's Jorge Sedano during the broadcast about their conversation. Phoenix won, 130-105.

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"G's a great sport about it -- one of my favorite players, somebody I look up to, got major respect for," Durant said. "I think we started in the summer with Team USA. We were all in the same room with Team USA, and the first thing I said to him was that he couldn't guard me. 'You're too small. Them dudes that played back in the day wasn't close to me.' I was just talking crazy to him, so I guess we picked it up from there."

At All-Star weekend, Payton (a nine-time All-Star and the 1996 Defensive Player of the Year) declared that, in his playing prime, he would have defeated Durant, one of the league's best scorers ever, in a game of one-on-one.

Across a 17-year NBA career with the SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, Payton logged averages of 16.3 points, 6.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals a night.

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For more news and notes, visit Ball Around on SI.