The opening of the fourth NBA Store in the Philippines had a very special guest.
Following his visit in the country’s capital, Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton opened the first NBA Store in the Queen City of the South, Thursday evening.
The nine-time NBA All-Star was the special guest of the opening of the fourth NBA store in the country.
Payton was more than welcomed by the warm Cebuano crowd at the Ayala Center Cebu. He held a meet-and-greet session with the lucky fans, who have waited for an NBA Store they could call their own. Prior to the momentous opening, “The Glove” visited a local school to interact with the students as part of the NBA Cares program.
“This has been great!”
“When you can come out like this,” the former Seattle Supersonic said. “This is what it is all about all the time.”
“So everywhere I’ve been, it’s been a great crowd and I know that’s what I like about Cebu. They’ve got fans and they come out here at the new NBA store and this is what I like.”
Payton made his name in the NBA as one of the all-time greatest lockdown defenders the league has ever seen. The Oakland-native was drafted second overall by the Seattle Supersonics back in 1990. With his leadership, he steered the fortunes of the franchise, leading the team to the Finals back in 1996. During that same year, he won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year — becoming the only point guard to do so.
After 13 seasons with the Sonics, Payton then played for the Milwaukee Bucks, the L.A. Lakers, the Boston Celtics before wrapping-up his career with the Miami heat where he won a championship during 2005-2006 season. He is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist for the United States Men’s Basketball team.
