Payton had cups of coffee in the NBA from 2016-2021, but just was never able to stick with a team until his breakout season with the Warriors in '21-'22. Now, he has proven that he belongs in the league as long as he can stay healthy. Payton is an explosive athlete and a very good defender. If he played more minutes, he'd likely get consideration for making an All-Defense team. He plays much bigger than his 6'3" frame suggests - as he is long, athletic, and has some strength, all which help him guard multiple perimeter positions. He led the league in steal rate for his position in the '21-'22 season, according to Cleaning the Glass, which was not an outlier compared to other seasons of his career. He can rise up and provide some rim protection, posting a really high block rate for a wing.  Payton's offensive game could certainly use some polish, but the Warriors have found a role for him. They will often use Payton as the roll man in pick-and-roll. Payton is athletic and can catch lobs hanging around the dunker spot as well. He struggles from outside, as he's a 34% three-point shooter for his career on really low volume, and defenses are happy to ignore him when he's spotting up.  Despite missing a majority of the Warriors' championship playoff run in 2022 with a broken elbow, Payton made meaningful contributions when he did play, and was even sometimes in the closing lineup. He missed most of the '22-'23 season due to injury, so it was mostly a lost year for him. He played just over half of the Warriors' games in '23-'24, and will hope to play more in '24-'25.  Going into free agency in 2025, teams will want to consider if Payton will be as effective in other situations as he has been in Golden State, or if he has flourished primarily due to the Warriors system and playing alongside Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Payton will be 32 years old as a free agent in 2025, so he's also on the wrong end of the age curve.