Gary Payton II got petty Sunday as his Golden State Warriors started beefing with the Denver Nuggets.
Tempers flared after Payton got fouled by Zeke Nnaji early in the second quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo. Payton’s teammate, LJ Cryer, started getting chippy with the Nuggets guards during the stoppage in play.
The Warriors rookie delivered a couple of light bumps to Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr., leading to the veterans shoving him back. The scene escalated as Nnaji tried to defend his backcourt.
During the fracas, Payton pulled a downright cruel move and snatched Nnaji’s headband clean off his head, exposing Nnaji’s slightly receding dome.
Gary Payton just SNATCHED bro's headband for no reason 😭 pic.twitter.com/L6g2MFC0N2
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) March 30, 2026
Here’s another angle of the incident.
Gary Payton just SNATCHED bro's headband for no reason 😭 pic.twitter.com/L6g2MFC0N2
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) March 30, 2026
Payton, a headband wearer himself, should have known better than to swipe another man’s headgear. You never know what he could be hiding underneath. While Nnaji obviously has a much better set of follicles than some other less fortunate souls competing in sports, the moment probably didn’t feel great for him.
Nnaji, Payton, and De’Anthony Melton were each assessed technical fouls for their involvement in the commotion.
Nnaji played just shy of 5 minutes in the contest, finishing with only a rebound and a foul on Payton to his name in the game’s official box score, which apparently doesn’t include headband turnovers. But he did get the last laugh as his Nuggets ran away with a 116-93 victory.
