3:41 pm: The Warriors have put out an official statement on Payton, announcing that he has a partial tear of a ligament in his left thumb and will be reevaluated in one week (Twitter link).
12:33 pm: Warriors guard Gary Payton II has a torn ligament in his left thumb and will be out indefinitely, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. Anthony Slater of The Athletic was the first to report that Payton had a thumb injury (Twitter link).
The Warriors will have to make do without a key part of their rotation as the postseason approaches. They’re currently tied with the Clippers for the sixth-best record in the Western Conference with a 41-31 record. The Timberwolves are lurking right behind with a 41-32 mark.
The top six teams automatically qualify for the first round in the playoffs while the next four teams in the standings have to fight through the play-in tournament.
Payton’s workload has steadily increased down the stretch. He’s averaging 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 21 minutes per game this month. Overall, the veteran guard has appeared in 58 games — his highest total since the 2021/22 season — with averages of 6.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 steals in 14.9 minutes per game.
Payton, 32, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Without him, the Warriors will likely lean more on Gui Santos and Pat Spencer. Regardless, his overall contributions will be tough to replace.