Gary Payton is objectively one of the greatest point guards in the history of basketball.
For proof, let’s review the tape: NBA Championship? Check. Olympic Gold Medal? Got it. NBA All-Star? Payton made the All-Defensive First Team nine times, tied for the record with Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. On the court, no one can challenge his legacy.
But that’s all in the past. Now, the man they call “The Glove” is racking up assists in the Cannabis space, helping patients and athletes find relief with his new brand, Greater Purpose.
LEAF caught up with Payton courtside at a park in Los Angeles to learn more about his new moves.
Bay Area Beginnings
Even if you’ve never watched basketball, you probably know Payton’s name from the famed Cookies strain named after him. Bred by Bay Area legend Kenny “Powerzzzup” Powers, the GP strain was named and released by Berner in collaboration with Payton.
“One of my guys came to me and said, ‘You know, they got a strain with your name,’” Payton said. “I said, ‘Who does?’ And it was a guy named Berner. I said, ‘We’re gonna have to meet with him.’”
The strain originally was called “Strain 20,” its ID number in Powers’ pheno hunt. Berner and the Cookies crew saw the correlation with the legendary Oakland-born baller Payton, whose jersey number was 20.
“He was like, ‘You are an OG here in Oakland, and we’re proud of you, we want to name it after you,’” Payton said, recounting his initial conversation with Berner. “So I said, ‘OK, cool.’”
Payton picked the likeness for the bags and helped with the creative decisions, and one of the most popular strains in Cookies’ history was born.
A Shift in Perspective
Ironically, considering the legendary status swiftly earned by his namesake strain, Payton had never been a weed smoker himself.
“When I was in the NBA, it wasn’t like that,” Payton said. “People didn’t know what Cannabis did for you. … Nowadays, it’s different, because a lot of people use Cannabis products, and they understand what it’s doing and helping. When I was playing, we didn’t have this much knowledge, so we didn’t believe in Cannabis. We didn’t know much about it.”
In the years since his career on the court, there’s been a tectonic shift in the attitude toward Cannabis in athletics. The plant’s recovery benefits have been well documented, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver lifted the league’s ban on Cannabis usage.
“Adam Silver knows that 80 to 90 percent of his players smoke marijuana,” Payton said. “So why fight it? You’re gonna catch ’em, and what if you catch the whole 80-90? You’re not gonna have an NBA.”
Not only is it in the league’s best interests to allow its players to make their own decisions about Cannabis, Payton says it’s in the players’ best interests, as well.
“With marijuana, they get a sense of relief,” he said. “They can mellow out and be calm. Most of these kids are smoking weed and playing PlayStation. They’re having a good time and being mellow. I’d rather have them like that than have them out on the streets, drunk, killing people.”
Payton doesn’t know how fast the rest of the professional sports community will catch on, but he loves that the NBA is leading the charge.
“I don’t know what baseball and football are gonna do,” he said. “I don’t think they trust it, and I don’t think the commissioners know much about it. But I think Adam Silver is a players’ Commissioner, and he understands what’s going on.”
Finding a Greater Purpose
While the world has experienced a sea change in its attitude toward Cannabis, Payton himself felt a personal perspective shift about the power of the plant that set him on a new path.
“It started because my mother — she’s dying from cancer,” Payton said. “I gave her some gummies, I gave her some marijuana and some rubs that would keep her from aching and pain. During that time, we knew we couldn’t stop the cancer. It was terminal.”
The infused products Payton provided helped ease his mother’s suffering and brought her a modicum of normalcy during her struggle.
“I decided to do it for a greater purpose,” Payton said.
Greater Purpose became his mantra, his mission, and then became the name of his own therapeutic Cannabis brand.
Payton founded the company with industry operators Green Label Rx to bring safe and clean relief to patients and athletes. They are releasing a lineup of roll-on balms and gummies to start.
“It’s a Greater Purpose to help people who are ailing,” he said, “to get them off medications, to have a better life.”
The products are aimed squarely at symptom relief, and Payton recommends them for use anytime you might experience swelling, muscle pain or stiffness, especially before and after workouts.
“I use it every day I get up,” he said. “If I’m feeling achy, I’m getting close to 60, so I’m like, ‘Yo, I gotta use it, too.’ It makes me feel better, and it’s safe. I don’t feel high, I don’t feel drowsy, I feel great.”
Instagram: @gary.payton.20
