GP2 plays hilarious ‘mind games’ about Poole’s Warriors victory originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Gary Payton II knows that being a great defender goes beyond the physical attributes needed to go against the NBA’s elite offensive players.
Sometimes it’s necessary to think outside the box, which is what Payton did by untying former Warriors teammate Jordan Poole’s shoelaces during the fourth quarter of Golden State’s 122-114 victory over the Washington Wizards Saturday at Chase Center.
After the Warriors’ win, Payton revealed that his hilarious joke was part of a larger plan to play “mind games” with his former teammate.
“Those are just mind games with JP. That’s just mind games,” Payton said on “Warriors Postgame Live” after Saturday’s win. ‘It’s okay. I knew he was going to do that, I know he was going to tell the referee, so get him, get him out of the basketball for a second and bother him a little bit, but you know, always, always a pleasure, against JP. ”
It’s understandable that Payton is diving deep into his tricks, as Poole scored a whopping 38 points on Saturday.
Despite Poole’s goal-scoring outburst, Payton and the Warriors got the last laugh as Golden State opened a crucial stretch of games with a win.
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