Category profile
- Dominance
- 80
- Peak
- 86
- Longevity
- 86
- Honours
- 80
- Statistics
- 84
Career timeline · Points per game
| Season | Points per game | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.2 | |
| 1991 | 9.4 | |
| 1992 | 13.5 | |
| 1993 | 16.5 | |
| 1994 | 20.6 | |
| 1995 | 19.3 | |
| 1996 | 21.8 | |
| 1997 | 19.2 | |
| 1998 | 21.7 | |
| 1999 | 24.2 | |
| 2000 | 23.1 | |
| 2001 | 22.1 | |
| 2002 | 20.4 | |
| 2003 | 14.6 | |
| 2004 | 11.3 | |
| 2005 | 7.7 | |
| 2006 | 5.3 |
Data sources
- NBA
- Basketball Reference
- FIBA
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Gary Payton ranks #54 in Basketball
Gary Payton ranks 54th among Basketball athletes on GOAT Rank and 398th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 83.0 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 80, Peak 86, Longevity 86, Honours 80, Statistics 84. Those categories are normalised against the full Basketball reference universe of 399 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1990–2007 with 17 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1999, which sets the Peak component at 86. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 86 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes nba titles 1, defensive player of the year awards 1, all-star selections 9, all-defensive first teams 9.
Immediately ahead sits Elgin Baylor on 85.3, a gap of 2.3 points. Directly behind is Lauren Jackson on 84.3. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Gary Payton GOAT Score explained
- Dominance80/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Payton stood above the field while competing. Scored 80/100 against the full Basketball cohort.
- Peak86/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1999. Scored 86/100.
- Longevity86/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 17 years of competition and 17 recorded seasons. Scored 86/100.
- Honours80/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 80/100.
- Statistics84/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 84/100.
Top Payton comparisons
Gary Payton — frequently asked
- Is Gary Payton the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Gary Payton ranks 54th in Basketball with a GOAT Score of 83.0, behind LeBron James on 95.6.
- What is Gary Payton's GOAT Score?
- 83.0 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 80 (25%), Peak 86 (20%), Longevity 86 (20%), Honours 80 (20%), Statistics 84 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Gary Payton rank all time?
- 398th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 54th within Basketball.
- Gary Payton vs Elgin Baylor: who ranks higher?
- Elgin Baylor, on 85.3 against Gary Payton's 83.0 — a margin of 2.3 points.