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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the Phoenix Suns 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 St ...

(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, 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 ...

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

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 coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

High school career

Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School in

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 to play

at Murray State, 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, 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 ...

, the Thunder's D-League 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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. 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 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Chicago Bulls (2017–2019)

On February 23, 2017, Payne was traded, along with Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow, 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 thir ...

, 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. 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 Cleveland Cavaliers. 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, 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 Cleveland Cavaliers. 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 Phoenix Suns. He made his debut on July 31 in the

2020 NBA Bubble The 2020 NBA Bubble, also referred to as the Disney Bubble or the Orlando Bubble, was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its p ...

, 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 Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. On August 7, 2020, Payne recorded a season-high 15 points in a 114–99 win over the Indiana Pacers. He later repeated his season-high in a blowout 128–102 win over the Dallas Mavericks, 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. 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 ...

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

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

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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 s ...

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

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, 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; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

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, 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;", Murray State , 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;", Murray State , 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 and the

NBA G 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 ...

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