Payton views Warriors’ NBA In-Season Tournament games as ‘money time’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Gary Payton II has his eyes on the bag.
The Warriors guard knows his team has a chance to earn a major payday in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, and Golden State inched closer to that goal with a 118-112 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night at Chase Center.
“It’s technically money time, so we can’t afford to give up any of these [games],” Payton told reporters after the penultimate game of the tournament’s group play stage. “We’ve got to have ’em. So, tonight was pretty big. Everybody had their [antennae] up and [was] active and causing havoc.
“We knew our backs [were] against the wall, so we went out to try to compete for the money.”
Entering Friday’s game, the Warriors were fighting to stay alive in the tournament’s West Group C amid multiple elimination scenarios. It was a must-win game, and Payton’s energy on the floor in his return from injury helped Golden State earn it. Now, the Warriors remain in the hunt for the In-Season tournament’s prize money.
Each player on the tournament’s winning team will receive $500,000, while the runners-up will get $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals each will earn $100,000, and the losing players of the quarterfinals will receive $50,000. For some players, that’s a significant check.
“We just know when that court’s different, it’s money time,” Payton said. “I think a few of our guys — and especially our young guys — it’ll help out our young guys and our two-ways, so try to lock in and bring it home.”
“We just know when that court’s different it’s money time.” 🤑
GP2 and the Warriors know what’s on the line during the In-Season Tournament pic.twitter.com/8A9XUJNVkM
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 25, 2023
After Friday’s win, the Warriors (2-1) trail only the Sacramento Kings (3-0) in the Group C standings and have the same record as the Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1). One of those three teams will win Group C and advance to the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, as the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-2) and Spurs (0-4) are eliminated.
That makes the Warriors’ In-Season Tournament game against the Kings on Tuesday incredibly important, and Payton expects a “rowdy” crowd at Golden 1 Center. There’s a chance the winner of the Group C bracket could be the winning team in Sacramento that night via several scenarios, and point differential plays a major role in the eventual…