During that 2004 playoff battle between the Spurs and the Warriors, Gary Payton on the court could almost only be a liability.
The Glove is not the type to swallow his anger quietly, he shot back at the fan pointing at his nose: "Shut your stinky mouth! Or I'll make you shut it!"
After Gary Payton said this, a Spurs fan threw a cup of Coke from the stands.
And this behavior was like a zero-dollar event; as long as one person took the lead, others would follow suit.
In an instant, several plastic cups were hurled at Payton.
Stephen Jackson and Jason Richardson helped protect Payton's head, then dragged him, who stood there dumbfounded, into the locker room.
Luckily, none of the Warriors players were hit by those cups.
But looking at the cups littering the player's tunnel entrance, Gary Payton felt worse than if he'd been hit in the head.
He once served here, he didn't expect to earn the respect of the fans here, but he definitely didn't expect to be resented.
