LeBron James congratulated Gary Payton II, who easily could’ve been his Lakers teammate, on playoff win

Like everyone else, he was impressed by Gary Payton II.

LeBron James didn’t make the playoffs, so he is watching hoops like other fans. Also, like everyone else, he was impressed by Gary Payton II’s Game 5 performance on Wednesday night as the Warriors eliminated the Nuggets.

Payton finished the game with 15 points, which trailed only Stephen Curry for the most on the Warriors. He was 6-for-8 from the field, knocking down three 3-pointers, and he also added two steals and one block.

On both sides of the ball, his on-court performance was instrumental in helping the Warriors defeat the Nuggets and advance into the second round of the Western Conference postseason. It was enough for LeBron to tweet that Payton deserved the game ball.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted that Payton finished the game because he played great defense, but then he started hitting huge shots down the stretch.

During the fourth quarter, he made all four of his attempts from the field, including two 3-pointers. One of his long-distance shots gave them a lead, and the other sealed the deal for the win. He had 10 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal in just the fourth quarter.

Golden State finished the fourth with a plus-ten point differential during those minutes with him on the floor. His performance was crucial in the win for the Warriors, so of course, it caught LeBron’s attention.

Payton’s emergence was one of the most interesting stories in the NBA this past season. How did the son of an NBA champion and former Defensive Player of the Year fly so under the radar?

Even though Payton was a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year while at Oregon State, he was an undrafted free agent. Now 29 years old, this year marks the first time Payton has logged more than 500 total minutes in a season.

The frustrating part is that Payton, who performed extremely well according to advanced analytics and also is just clearly a menace on the floor, could’ve been teammates with LeBron.

Alongside former Lakers guard Alex Caruso, Payton played for the South Bay Lakers in 2017-18. He got an NBA opportunity with the Lakers later that season (the year before LeBron got to Hollywood).

But over the course of the next few years, players like Payton were switched out for veterans or Klutch clients — or in some cases, both.

It’s not like the Lakers were the only team that didn’t see the vision. Payton also bounced around with the Bucks and Wizards, then in the G League with affiliates for the Rockets and Raptors. But the Lakers even gave him a second chance, which didn’t materialize into a roster spot, either.

During his second campaign with South Bay in 2019-20, the former Oregon State standout averaged 21.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 3.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game.

Much like Caruso, now an NBA All-Defensive candidate, Payton is another example of a talented asset that Los Angeles let slip away.

It’s not worth rehashing all the young players that the Lakers let walk away. Caruso, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Julius Randle, Thomas Bryant, D’Angelo Russell, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, and Larry Nance Jr. each had a rough fate in Los Angeles.

But my goodness, it’s hard not to see the irony of LeBron congratulating Payton on success in the playoffs. Because letting players like Payton walk is one of the primary reasons why the Lakers didn’t make the playoffs in the first place.

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