As some of the shady, elder statesmen hung out along the sidelines of a Mosswood Park blacktop court in Oakland, Calif., shooting dice and heckling players with postgame threats, it was never much of a distraction for Gary Payton. Perhaps more than anyone else, he and his game did the talking.
“I'd be out on the court talkin' crazy,” laughs Payton. “And when I talk crazy to you, you get mad ... then, I'd show you up in front of all your homeboys.”
