Cameron Payne (born August 8, 1994) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

, and was selected 14th overall by the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

in the 2015 NBA Draft. After playing two seasons for the Thunder, he was traded to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

in 2017, where he played for three seasons before being waived in 2019. After being waived, Payne played for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

on 10-day contracts before heading overseas to play with the

Shanxi Loongs The Shanxi Loongs, also known as Shanxi SDIC Raptors Club or Shanxi Fenjiu Shares are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Taiyuan, Shanxi, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Shanxi Fe ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA). Payne returned to the NBA and signed with the Phoenix Suns in 2020, where he revitalized his career by becoming a key player off the bench, helping the team reach the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

High school career

Payne attended

Lausanne Collegiate School Lausanne Collegiate School (; previously Lausanne School for Girls) is an independent, coeducational college-placement school in Memphis, Tennessee. With grades for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, the school has a sizable international p ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He grew from 5'5' as a freshman to 6'0 as a senior. Despite leading Lausanne Collegiate to a 2013 Division II state title in Tennessee, Payne was not a heavily scouted player by collegiate programs. He was considered to be a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and was not ranked in the top 100 prospects. He was recruited by

William Small William Small (13 October 1734 – 25 February 1775) was a Scottish physician and a professor of natural philosophy at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where he became an influential mentor for Thomas Jefferson. Early life William Sm ...

to play

, choosing the Racers over a few other schools. Payne then went from a relatively unknown college recruit to a potential NBA lottery pick.

College career

As a freshman, Payne averaged 16.8 points, 5.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. He was forced to start at point guard as a freshman due to an injury to Zay Jackson, and began his collegiate career registering 21 points, five boards and four assists in the team's opener at Valparaiso. Payne earned first-team All-OVC honors and was named freshman of the year by the conference. As a sophomore, he was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year after he averaged 20.2 points, 6.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. Payne opted to declare for the NBA Draft after his sophomore season.

Professional career

Oklahoma City Thunder (2015–2017)

During workouts prior to the NBA draft, Payne broke the ring finger on his non-shooting hand. The injury did not require surgery. On June 25, 2015, Payne was selected by the

with the 14th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. On July 10, 2015, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Thunder. He made his debut for the Thunder on November 1 in a 117–93 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, recording three assists in four minutes. On December 5, he was assigned to the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as t ...

, the Thunder's

D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate. He was recalled on December 6, reassigned on December 15, and recalled again on December 16. On December 29, he had a 16-point effort in a 131–123 win over the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. In the Thunder's regular season finale on April 12, 2016, Payne recorded career highs of 17 points and seven assists in a 102–98 loss to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. On July 25, 2016, Payne underwent a successful procedure to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He recovered quickly and was cleared to practice when training camp opened. He went through full contact during the Thunder's first two days of practice, but on September 27, he suffered an acute fracture to his fifth metatarsal in the team's Blue-White Scrimmage. As a result, he missed the first two months of the 2016–17 season. After spending six days with the Oklahoma City Blue in early January, Payne joined the Thunder playing group for the first time in 2016–17 on January 7. He subsequently made his season debut that night, scoring eight points in 13 minutes against the Denver Nuggets. On February 9, 2017, he scored a season-high 15 points in a 118–109 win over the

Chicago Bulls (2017–2019)

On February 23, 2017, Payne was traded, along with

Joffrey Lauvergne Joffrey Lauvergne (born 30 September 1991) is a French professional basketball player for ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague.. He was drafted 55th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2013 NBA draft, who then traded his rights ...

and

Anthony Morrow Anthony Jarrad Morrow (born September 27, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who is an executive for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Georgia Tech. He ...

, to the

in exchange for

Taj Gibson Taj Jami Gibson (born June 24, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gibson played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected 26th overall by th ...

Doug McDermott Douglas Richard McDermott (born January 3, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While playing college basketball for Creighton University, he led the nation i ...

and a 2018 second-round draft pick. During the 2016–17 season, Payne had multiple assignments with the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thirte ...

, the Bulls' D-League affiliate. On September 8, 2017, Payne was ruled out for three to four months after undergoing surgery on his right foot two days prior. He was known as the tank commander. He made his season debut for the Bulls on February 22, 2018, in a 116–115 loss to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. On March 17, 2018, Payne recorded his first professional double-double in his NBA career, putting up 13 points and a career-high 10 assists in a 114–109 loss to the

. On March 23, 2018, he had a career-high 17 points and six assists in a 118–105 loss to the

. On October 24, 2018, Payne scored all of his career-high 21 points in the second half of the Bulls' 112–110 win over the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, going 7 for 11 on 3-pointers. On January 3, 2019, he was waived by the Bulls.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2019)

On January 6, 2019, Payne signed a 10-day contract with the

. On January 16, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Cavaliers. He parted ways with the Cavaliers following the expiration of his second 10-day contract.

Shanxi Loongs (2019–2020)

On July 25, 2019, Payne signed a contract with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. On October 8, 2019, Payne played for 12 minutes against the Houston Rockets in a preseason game and tallied four points, one assist, and one rebound. On October 19, 2019, the Raptors released Payne. On November 12, 2019, Payne was reported to join the

. He played in two games for the team, averaging 22.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 4.5 steals per contest. On January 2, 2020, Payne was replaced.

Texas Legends (2020)

On January 25, 2020, the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado ...

announced that they had acquired Payne. During the week of March 3, 2020, Payne was named the NBA G-League Player of the Week, averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while leading the Legends to a perfect 3-0 record for the week.

Phoenix Suns (2020–present)

On June 30, 2020, Payne agreed to a two-season deal with the

. He made his debut on July 31 in the 2020 NBA Bubble, where he recorded nine points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals on a plus-minus of +21 in a 125–112 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. On August 7, 2020, Payne recorded a season-high 15 points in a 114–99 win over the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. He later repeated his season-high in a blowout 128–102 win over the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, helping the team be undefeated in all eight games the Suns played in the bubble while coming off the bench and having his highest scoring and rebounding season averages in the NBA yet. After his successful time in the bubble, Payne had his second season option picked up on November 18, 2020. In his second season with Phoenix, Payne continued the successful production he had in the 2020 bubble off the bench. On January 6, 2021, he tied his then career-high of 10 assists in only 16 minutes of play in a 123–115 win over the

. On February 20, he scored a season-high 19 points and put up seven assists in a blowout 128–97 win over the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. On March 4, Payne recorded his second career double-double in the NBA, leading the Suns that night with 17 points and 10 assists coming off the bench in a 120–98 blowout win over the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. On June 22, 2021, Payne recorded a career high in the Western Conference Finals against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, recording 29 points, along with nine assists, two steals, and two blocks in the Suns' 104-103 win. Payne helped the Suns reach the

2021 NBA Finals The 2021 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2020–21 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks d ...

, but the Suns lost the series in 6 games to the

. On March 4, 2022, Payne recorded a career-high 16 assists to go with 17 points in a 115–114 win over the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. On November 16, 2022, Payne matched his career-high of 29 points in a 130–119 win over the defending champion

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, 57 , , 1 , , 12.2 , , .410 , , .324 , , .792 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .1 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .331 , , .308 , , 1.000 , , 1.6 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 11 , , 0 , , 12.9 , , .333 , , .324 , , .250 , , 1.5 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .0 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 25 , , 14 , , 23.3 , , .405 , , .385 , , .750 , , 2.8 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 31 , , 12 , , 17.3 , , .411 , , .271 , , .880 , , 1.7 , , 2.7 , , .6 , , .2 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 9 , , 1 , , 19.6 , , .491 , , .360 , , .688 , , 2.1 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 8 , , 0 , , 22.9 , , .485 , , .517 , , .857 , , 3.9 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 1 , , 18.0 , , .484 , , .440 , , .893 , , 2.4 , , 3.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 58 , , 12 , , 22.0 , , .409 , , .336 , , .843 , , 3.0 , , 4.9 , , .7 , , .3 , , 10.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 279 , , 41 , , 17.9 , , .421 , , .362 , , .830 , , 2.0 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.6

Playoffs

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2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

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, 10 , , 0 , , 6.4 , , .269 , , .200 , , .500 , , .4 , , .8 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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, 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 2 , , 19.0 , , .425 , , .362 , , .889 , , 2.5 , , 3.2 , , .8 , , .5 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 13 , , 0 , , 13.2 , , .297 , , .167 , , .833 , , 1.5 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 46 , , 2 , , 14.3 , , .380 , , .300 , , .821 , , 1.7 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 32.7 , , .404 , , .341 , , .774 , , 3.6 , , 5.4 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 32.2 , , .456 , , .377 , , .787 , , 3.7 , , 6.0 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , 20.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 69 , , 69 , , 32.4 , , .432 , , .359 , , .781 , , 3.7 , , 5.7 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 18.5

Personal life

His father, Tony Payne, was once a youth basketball coach. He and his mother, Leshawn Payne, were also instrumental in helping Payne out with returning to the NBA after briefly being out of the league for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

References

External links

*
Murray State Racers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Cameron 1994 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American men's basketball players Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee Chicago Bulls players Cleveland Cavaliers players Lausanne Collegiate School alumni Murray State Racers men's basketball players Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks Oklahoma City Thunder players Phoenix Suns players Point guards Texas Legends players Windy City Bulls players