Cameron Payne

Cameron Payne
Born	(1994-08-08) August 8, 1994 United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2015–present
Known for	NBA player for multiple teams including Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks

Cameron Payne (born August 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball athlete who most recently played for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He competed at the collegiate level for Murray State and was the 14th overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2015 NBA draft. After spending two seasons with Oklahoma City, Payne was traded to the Chicago Bulls in 2017, where he remained for three seasons before being released in 2019.

Following his departure from Chicago, Payne secured multiple 10-day contracts with the Cleveland Cavaliers and then took his talents abroad to join the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He made a return to the NBA in 2020, signing with the Phoenix Suns, where he revitalized his career as a vital bench player and contributed significantly to the team's run to the 2021 NBA Finals. Subsequently, he had stints with the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and New York Knicks.

High school career

Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School located in Memphis, Tennessee. During his high school years, he grew from as a freshman to by his senior year and led Lausanne Collegiate to capture the 2013 Division II state championship. Despite this achievement, Payne received limited attention from scouts; he was rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and did not rank among the top 100 prospects nationally. After being recruited by William Small, Payne opted to attend Murray State, evolving from an under-the-radar recruit into a prospective NBA lottery selection.

College career

In his freshman season, Payne posted averages of 16.8 points, 5.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per contest. He earned a starting role at point guard following an injury to Zay Jackson, making his debut with a performance of 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists against Valparaiso. His efforts earned him first-team All-OVC recognition as well as Freshman of the Year honors within the conference. During his sophomore year, Payne was honored as Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year after averaging 20.2 points, 6.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. After this standout season, he declared for the NBA Draft.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2015–2017)

Prior to the 2015 NBA draft, Payne suffered a broken ring finger on his non-shooting hand; however, surgery was not required for this injury. On June 25, 2015, he was chosen with the 14th overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder during the draft. He officially signed his rookie contract on July 10, 2015. Payne made his NBA debut on November 1 by registering three assists in four minutes during a victory over the Denver Nuggets. Throughout December, he split time between Oklahoma City and their D-League affiliate team, the Oklahoma City Blue. On December 29, he scored 16 points in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks, and concluded his rookie season with personal bests of 17 points and seven assists recorded in April.

On July 25, 2016, Payne underwent surgical repair for a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot and was later cleared to resume practice by training camp. Unfortunately, he re-injured the same foot during a scrimmage on September 27, which sidelined him for roughly two months at the start of the 2016–17 season. After a short assignment with the Oklahoma City Blue in early January, Payne rejoined the Thunder roster on January 7 and scored eight points in his season opener against the Nuggets. He achieved a season-high of 15 points on February 9 during a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Chicago Bulls (2017–2019)

On February 23, 2017, Payne was involved in a trade that sent him, along with Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second-round draft selection. Throughout the 2016–17 campaign, Payne experienced several stints with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s NBA Development League team.

Payne underwent surgery on his right foot on September 8, 2017, which caused him to miss approximately three to four months. He made his return on February 22, 2018, appearing in a narrow defeat against the Philadelphia 76ers. On March 17, he notched his first NBA double-double by tallying 13 points alongside a career-best 10 assists in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just six days afterward, Payne achieved a personal scoring record with 17 points and added six assists versus the Milwaukee Bucks.

On October 24, 2018, Payne reached a new scoring peak by putting up 21 points—all scored in the second half—in a tight 112–110 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, shooting an efficient 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. The Bulls waived him on January 3, 2019.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2019)

Payne signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 6, 2019. After securing a second consecutive 10-day deal on January 16, he parted ways with the franchise once that contract expired.

Shanxi Loongs (2019–2020)

On July 25, 2019, Payne inked a deal with the Toronto Raptors. He appeared in one preseason matchup on October 8, contributing four points, one assist, and one rebound across 12 minutes of play. The Raptors released him shortly after on October 19.

Payne then signed with the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association on November 12, 2019. Over two games with Shanxi, he averaged an impressive stat line of 22.5 points, six rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 4.5 steals per contest before being replaced on January 2, 2020.

Texas Legends (2020)

The Texas Legends acquired Payne on January 25, 2020. During the week beginning March 3, he earned NBA G-League Player of the Week honors by averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while guiding the Legends to an undefeated 3–0 record.

Phoenix Suns (2020–2023)

Payne agreed to a two-year contract with the Phoenix Suns on June 30, 2020. He made his debut on July 31 within the 2020 NBA Bubble, contributing nine points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in a convincing 125–112 win over the Washington Wizards. On August 7, he posted a season-high of 15 points during a dominant 114–99 victory against the Indiana Pacers, matching that total later in a commanding 128–102 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks. Payne played an integral role as Phoenix went undefeated (8–0) in the bubble while setting personal bests in scoring and rebounding averages.

Following this strong showing, Phoenix exercised their option to retain Payne for a second season on November 18, 2020. Throughout his sophomore year with the Suns, he continued to provide valuable production off the bench. On January 6, 2021, he equaled his career-high by dishing out ten assists in just sixteen minutes during a narrow 123–115 win over the Toronto Raptors. On February 20, Payne scored a season-best nineteen points along with seven assists in a commanding 128–97 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies. Then on March 4, he recorded his second career double-double by posting seventeen points and ten assists off the bench during a decisive 120–98 win versus the Golden State Warriors.

On June 22, 2021, Payne achieved a new career-high of twenty-nine points while adding nine assists, two steals, and two blocks in the Western Conference Finals victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. He played an instrumental role as Phoenix advanced to the 2021 NBA Finals, where they ultimately fell in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Payne set another personal record on March 4, 2022, delivering sixteen assists alongside seventeen points in a narrow one-point win (115–114) against the New York Knicks. Later that year on November 16, he matched his career-high of twenty-nine points during a thrilling comeback win over reigning champions the Golden State Warriors, finishing at 130–119.

In Game Six of the semi-final round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, Payne surpassed his previous scoring best by tallying thirty-one points despite Phoenix’s eventual elimination after losing the series four games to two. He led all Suns scorers that night in a lopsided 125–100 defeat.

Milwaukee Bucks (2023–2024)

On July 17, 2023, the Suns sent Payne, along with a 2025 second-round draft pick and cash considerations, to the San Antonio Spurs in return for a protected second-round pick in 2024. The Spurs released him on September 11, and he subsequently agreed to a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on October 2.

Philadelphia 76ers (2024)

Payne was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on February 8, 2024, together with a 2027 second-round selection, in exchange for Patrick Beverley. He made his first appearance for the team on February 9, contributing 20 points and six assists during a 127–121 defeat against the Atlanta Hawks.

New York Knicks (2024–2025)

On July 15, 2024, Payne inked a contract with the New York Knicks. In the opening round of the playoffs versus the Detroit Pistons, he delivered 11 of his total 14 points in the final quarter, playing a crucial role in clinching the victory.

On October 9, 2025, Payne signed with the Indiana Pacers.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City | 57 || 1 || 12.2 || .410 || .324 || .792 || 1.5 || 1.9 || .6 || .1 || 5.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City | 20 || 0 || 16.0 || .331 || .308 || 1.000 || 1.6 || 2.0 || .5 || .3 || 5.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Chicago | 11 || 0 || 12.9 || .333 || .324 || .250 || 1.5 || 1.4 || .4 || .0 || 4.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Chicago | 25 || 14 || 23.3 || .405 || .385 || .750 || 2.8 || 4.5 || 1.0 || .4 || 8.8 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Chicago | 31 || 12 || 17.3 || .411 || .271 || .880 || 1.7 || 2.7 || .6 || .2 || 5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 9 || 1 || 19.6 || .491 || .360 || .688 || 2.1 || 2.6 || .9 || .3 || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix | 8 || 0 || 22.9 || .485 || .517|| .857|| 3.9||3.0|| 1.0|| .3|| 10.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;" |Phoenix |60||1||18.0||.484||.440||.893||2.4||3.6||.6||.3||8.4 |- |- | style="text-align:left;"| |- | style="text-align:left;" |Phoenix |58||12||22.0|| .409|| .336|| .843||3.0|| 4.9|| .7|| .3||10.8 |- |- | style="text-align:left;"| |- | style="text-align:left;" |2022–23 Phoenix Suns season |48|| 15||20.2|| .415|| .368|| .766||2.2||4.5|| .7|| .2||10.3 |- |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| |- | style="text-align:left;" |2023–24 Milwaukee Bucks season |- |47||2||14.9||.455||.397||.841||1.3||2.3||.5||.1||6.2 |- | style="text-align:left;" |2023–24 Philadelphia 76ers season |- |31||8||19.4||.413||.382||.913||1.8||3.1||.6||.3||9.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| |- | style="text-align:left;" |2024–25 New York Knicks season |- | 72||5||15.1|| .401|| .363||| .907|||1.4|||2.8||| .5||| .2|||6.9 |- class="sortbottom" |- | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |- |477|||71|||17.5||| .419||| .368||| .836|||2.0|||3.2||| .6||| .2|||7.8

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016 | style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City | 10 || 0 || 6.4 || .269 || .200 || .500 || .4 || .8 || .2 || .2 || 1.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017 | style="text-align:left;"| Chicago | 1 || 0 || 4.2 || .500 || 1.000 || || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 3.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 22 || 2 || 19.0 || .425 || .362 || .889 || 2.5 || 3.2 || .8 || .5 || 9.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022 | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 13 || 0 || 13.2 || .297 || .167 || .833 || 1.5 || 2.1 || .5 || .1 || 4.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023 | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 7 || 4 || 21.8 || .479 || .407 || .000 || 2.0 || 2.9 || .4 || .3 || 8.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 5 || 0 || 12.2 || .400 || .444 || || 1.2 || 1.4 || .2 || .8 || 5.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2025 | style="text-align:left;"| New York | 14 || 0 || 7.3 || .324 || .238 || .333 || .6 || .6 || .4 || .1 || 2.1 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 72 || 6 || 13.5 || .388 || .324 || .706 || 1.5|| 2.0|| .5|| .3|| 5.5

College

|- | style="text-align:left;" |2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

|style="text-align:left;" |2013–14 Murray State Racers men's basketball team
|34||34|| 32.7|| .404|| .341|| .774||3.6||5.4||1.7|| .6||16.8

|-

|style="text-align:left;" |2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 
|style="text-align:left;" |2014–15 Murray State Racers men's basketball team
|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, who coached youth basketball, along with his mother Leshawn Payne, played a key role in encouraging his return to the NBA following periods spent playing in China and the NBA G League.

On June 14, 2024, Payne was detained in Scottsdale, Arizona, after allegedly giving a false identity to law enforcement by using the name "Terry Johnson." He was booked into Scottsdale City Jail and subsequently released.

External links

• Murray State Racers bio