Warriors' Gary Payton II to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury

Gary Payton II recently returned for the Golden State Warriors from a calf injury that forced him to miss 13 games. On Tuesday night, Payton left the Warriors game against the Orlando Magic early due to what the team called a left hamstring strain. Now, Payton is expected to miss several weeks due to his new hamstring injury, first reported by The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Warriors star Gary Payton II (left hamstring strain) will miss several weeks, per @ShamsCharania .

He just made his return over the weekend after missing a month with a calf injury. pic.twitter.com/iMoM9e1b20

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 3, 2024

The Warriors, who are currently 16-17, have been looking for a spark of energy on their bench. Defensively, Payton supplies this to his team, which is why his loss is significant. Already without Draymond Green due to his indefinite suspension, Golden State will now be without another defensive weapon for at least the next three weeks after being diagnosed with a grade 2 strain of his left hamstring.

With just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter against Orlando on Tuesday night, Payton was defending Cole Anthony full-court. Attempting to get around a screen set by Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Payton's left leg appeared to get caught under him and he tripped to the ground. Payton was immediately grimacing and grabbing at the back of his left leg as he hobbled back on defense.

Once the Warriors gained possession, head coach Steve Kerr called a timeout to get Payton out of the game. As he head for the locker room, Payton was visibly frustrated and upset as he took off his headband and shouted at the bench.

“I feel bad for him more than anything,” Kerr said after the game. “Feel bad for us, too, but mainly for him. He's been out whatever it is—four, five weeks—worked hard to get back to this point. He makes such a big impact for us, so fingers crossed that he's not out for too long.”

Payton has played in only 16 games this season due to injury, averaging 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.