"When I get on you, just give me a tech" - Gary Payton admits he used to tell the refs to give him a technical foul just to get him fired up originally appeared on Basketball Network .
Gary Payton was always an enigma during his career, a mix of raw intensity and the kind of unfiltered honesty that made him one of the NBA's most magnetic figures. Drafted second overall in 1990, Payton seemed to enjoy confrontation as much as competition, often blending both.
All in all, he was a player who knew himself to a fault. He understood that his edge wasn't just something that appeared naturally. And sometimes, it took theatrics to get there.
Payton's antics weren't just evident in how he jawed at opponents or barked across the court, but extended to the referees, too. As strange as it may sound, the Hall of Famer would occasionally walk up to a game official before the opening tip and make an unusual request to give him a technical foul.
"I'd say, 'Yo, look here, I'm going to get on you tonight," Payton said . "You make a bad call? I'm going to get on you. When I get on you, just give me a tech."
For some players, talking trash is an important means of self-motivation. That was certainly the case for Payton and not just during practice. There were some games when he similarly struggled to get his competitive juices flowing, when he just didn't want to play basketball. But the point guard knew how to get himself going.
That approach showed throughout his career, from his days with the Seattle SuperSonics to his short but memorable championship run with the Miami Heat . During his peak in the mid-90s, Payton was often the emotional epicenter of the Sonics' roster, sharing a love-hate dynamic with coaches, teammates and rivals.
Payton's confrontational energy was what largely made him a Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, still one of only two point guards in league history to win that award. And he treated referees no differently than he treated his opponents. They, too, were part of the arena he needed to dominate.
Payton's technique of requesting a technical foul reveals just how deeply self-aware he was, even amid the chaos. He understood that his passion wasn't always automatic. Some nights, the adrenaline didn't arrive on cue. Some nights, the game felt flat. So he manufactured that urgency.
It was a premeditated edge. And more often than not, it worked. Payton thrived in messiness. He needed conflict. And whether that came in the form of guarding Michael Jordan or clashing with an official over a phantom foul, it was all part of the same playbook.
He was, above all else, a competitor who understood the levers of his own psyche.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
