Warriors guard teams up with Shaq at Outside Lands

Gary Payton II has had a busy summer now that he’s back with the Golden State Warriors. He got his degree from Oregon State.

Payton II wore an AC Milan jersey on the pitch for their game against Barcelona in Las Vegas.

GPII threw out the first pitch at a Giants game.

And Friday, he did his biggest event so far, taking the stage during the Outside Lands set from the world’s biggest DJ, Shaquille O’Neal, AKA DJ Diesel.

We can’t tell if The Big Aristotle actually let Payton touch the knobs or affect the music in any way, but it’s the first step toward proving that GPII can be a three-and-DJ player. Having watched Payton in his year-plus with the Warriors, it seems obvious that DJ Diesel needs to worry about Payton sneaking in from the dunker spot, cutting to the turntable, and dropping the beat before the slower O’Neal can react.

Perhaps that’s one reason it didn’t work out for GPII in Portland. DJ Diesel doesn’t tour there, and it’s really more of an indie rock/acoustic guitar town than it is a thumping beats town. This is purely a rumor, but some have said the Trail Blazers medical staff actually insisted that Payton turn down the bass in his home stereo and up the treble while taking Toradol.

Could Payton be thinking about moonlighting on the festival circuit? “Young Glove” is already a pretty good stage name. Payton has shown he has quick hands and is good at not getting “beat” one-on-one. And after Steph Curry sang with Paramore, there’s no limit to the Warriors’ musical horizons.

Could Klay Thompson sit in with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? Kevon Looney drumming with Dead & Company? Chris Paul falling down and pretended that Lil Uzi Vert fouled him? Anything is possible!

There’s still almost two months until training camp starts, so we eagerly await GPII’s further adventures. Just don’t listen to Shaq about cryptocurrency investments.