Cameron Payne

Cameron Payne (born August 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

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 and was not ranked in the top 100 prospects.

He was recruited by William Small to play college basketball 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.

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.

During workouts prior to the NBA draft, Payne broke the ring finger on his non-shooting hand.

The injury did not require surgery.

He played college basketball for Murray State, and was selected 14th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2015 NBA draft.

On June 25, 2015, Payne was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder 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 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.

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.

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.

During the 2016–17 season, Payne had multiple assignments with the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls' D-League affiliate.

After playing two seasons for the Thunder, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls 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 of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

On February 9, 2017, he scored a season-high 15 points in a 118–109 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On February 23, 2017, Payne was traded, along with Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round draft pick.

On September 8, 2017, Payne was ruled out for three to four months after undergoing surgery on his right foot two days prior.

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 Milwaukee Bucks.

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.

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.

Since then, he has played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee.

He grew from 5'5' as a freshman to 6'0 as a senior.