Quotes from Gary Payton

Coming from Oakland, Calif., I never thought I'd be a Hall of Famer. I wasn't thinking about basketball like that.

I will not go to Oklahoma and retire my jersey there.

I became real good friends with John Stockton and Karl Malone and am still good friends with them to this day. It was always good to go see them and then play with them in the 1996 Olympics as well. I idolized John Stockton at the time, I tried to model my game after him.

I've done everything - All-Stars, Olympics. The only thing I haven't done is win MVP of the league. There's nothing else I haven't accomplished.

I was really scared when I went to Oregon State. I wasn't sure I could play at the college level.

I've loved my days at Oregon State.

When you play defense what happens is everybody pays attention and they start talking about how you're the stopper, you can stop this guy. All of a sudden your game gets better on the offensive end and you become that versatile guard that everybody wants.

When I went in to Seattle, I had eight veterans who were in the league over six or seven years. That was a plus for me, to teach me how to respect somebody.

You don't hear about me being at parties, going out and gettin' drunk.

LeBron is making a case for himself to be one of the greatest players to ever play.

I didn't grow up admiring anybody but George Gervin, and I didn't get a chance to play against him. That would've been one of my lifetime accomplishments. I probably would've went crazy if I played against him, because he's like a father to me now.