GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 28, 2026

Gary Payton

Media Conference

Q. How does it feel to be back?

GARY PAYTON II: Another year. Can't complain.

Q. What are the expectations for the year for yourself?

GARY PAYTON II: Stay healthy. Have fun. Easy.

Q. You had a career high in games last year. What did you do differently last year to stay healthy? Was there anything you did? Then how do you replicate that this year?

GARY PAYTON II: I don't know. I just did a lot of stretching, strengthening, and that's about it. Paced myself.

Q. What have you been some of your first impressions of Yaxel?

GARY PAYTON II: He's good. Good kid, good size. He's going to help us on both ends quite a lot. I think he'll be good with Dray and Steph. It's going to be -- he's going to have a good year.

Q. Gary, you obviously have been around this group a lot, different versions of this group over the years. How is this group, this particular team different? You mentioned Yaxel. You obviously got some -- a few young guys who seem ready to contribute. How do you sort of assess the overall composition of this team?

GARY PAYTON II: Got a pretty good mix of vets and young guys, so it's going to be good. You know, Brandin has been here a little bit. Once we get Mo back, LJ came off a good year. Yax, you know, just came off the championship at school.

I think we got enough young guys that, you know, know what to do and how to win in those situations and then on top of that our vets continuing to lead and continuing to pass down their knowledge to them guys. I think it's going to help us in the long stretch.

Q. Gary, a question about the Valkyries and about a particular player among them, Gabby Williams. What do you think of her as a player, but also as a person? She's becoming bigger in the Bay Area.

GARY PAYTON II: Yeah, Gabs, she's doing her thing right now. She's doing just about everything for the Valkyries on both ends. You know, when you do that and you leave it out there on the court, you know the Bay is going to respond. They're liking Gabby a lot and what she's doing and what she's bringing to the team, especially after last night. She's going to do well down the stretch for them for sure.

Q. As a defensive expert yourself, what do you like in her game?

GARY PAYTON II: Oh, she's just physical. You know? You just got to put your hands on people at some times, and this is probably the time of the year where you can get away with a lot more than usual. So it gets funner in this time of the year for them that you can be more physical.

Q. A lot of guys came back this year. I'm just curious what went into your decision to come back to the Warriors this year?

GARY PAYTON II: It was a no-brainer. I had a few other options, but at this point in time it's just, you know, it's home. It's just going to have to take a lot more, you know, to leave, a lot more to leave. It was an easy decision to come back.

Q. How much did that fare for the team's outlook going into this season bringing back guys, you know, having familiarity, assemble a nucleus?

GARY PAYTON II: Chemistry and confidence. We're on the same page and know what we need from the coaches and what we need to do to, you know, just continue to stay afloat and play the right type of basketball. I think down the line, you know, once we get everybody back, we'll be in a good space.

Q. Gary, you've guarded a lot of scorers in this league over the years and back on Yaxel, there are lineups where maybe he plays the three, and he's going to have to guard a lot of wing scorers, guards, that kind of thing. What do you think? Where is he right now in terms of his ability as a potential point-of-attack defender guarding those type of guys, and what strides do you think he can make over the next month to get there?

GARY PAYTON II: No, absolutely. He's going to get thrown in the fire, I'm pretty sure of it. Like you said, from the two to the three to the five, best way to see that is just throw him in the fire. He's going to have some times where he's going to have to switch on some guys, but he's going to learn as we go. You know, he's going to learn that he's going to have to guard almost every position. I think he's ready to take on a challenge.

One thing he's not, he's not afraid or not scared to, you know, get out the box and get out his comfort zone and do other things and just add little small pieces to his game. He's going to be helpful for sure.

Q. How is Jimmy's mini-camp in San Diego?

GARY PAYTON II: It was good. It was fun to get all the guys together and just hoop and break bread. It's always fun going down to Jimmy's.

Q. Anything different from what you guys did last year?

GARY PAYTON II: No, not at all.

Q. A few years ago you and Jordan used to go at each other in practice all the time. Talking smack and going after each other. I'm looking at a guy like Brandon Williams coming in, and I'm wondering if that's something you guys -- because he's really quick, as you know, and is that something that you might look forward to kind of defending him in practice to test yourself and test him?

GARY PAYTON II: Absolutely. B-Will, I remember my days in Portland, you know, guarding him in practice. He's going to help me get my foot speed back and just for those shiftier guys, help me just stay patient and kind of let them make the turnovers themselves and funnel those to our guys down there.

But it's good to have B on my side, for sure, this year. So it's going to be good, but it's also going to be fun and competitive in practice.

Q. Is he one of the quicker guys in the league?

GARY PAYTON II: He's definitely one of the shiftiest, quick guys in the league now for sure, yeah. I think he's top 5 up there for sure.

Q. Beyond guarding him in practice, what do you think about what he adds to this team? He seems very different. You guys have obviously loaded up a lot of three-point shooters, and he goes to the hoop a lot. He gets to the line a lot. It seems like that's a change of pace that maybe could help? How do you sort of view how he fits stylistically?

GARY PAYTON II: Yeah, he's going to put a lot of pressure in the paint and on teams to collapse, or he can have those nights where he does get to the rim a lot, to the free-throw line a lot. It's going to be good for us to slow down the pace on the defensive end, let us get set up.

Like I said, he's going to create a lot of pressure on the defense and open up a lot more easy shots.

A lot of teams are going to have a lot of big decisions to make. Let Brandon go or do what he does and make plays. It's a different aspect, but I think it's going to be a great one. Push the pace, you know, when we can, get easy buckets, and also get to the line.

Q. How have you seen Steve's coaching game evolve, and how has that affected you?

GARY PAYTON II: Steve has seen a lot. You know, has very different dynamics with teams. Been through the lows, been through the highs. I think at this part and what kind of team we have, you know, every year he's messing with the line-up, experimenting throughout the year, but I think he's come up with a pretty good formula of doing that and putting lineups together, especially down the stretch.

Like I said, he experiments early just to see what we got for later down the season. But you know, it's good. It's been amazing to see his growth in how he handles the dynamics of the players that he has on his teams.