.jpg) Payne during practice in 2011. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1991-02-19)February 19, 1991 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 2022(2022-05-09) (aged 31) Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 237 lb (108 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Jefferson Township (Dayton, Ohio) |
| College | Michigan State (2010–2014) |
| NBA draft | 2014: 1st round, 15th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Atlanta Hawks |
| Playing career | 2014–2022 |
| Position | Center /power forward |
| Number | 33, 6, 3, 5, 55 |
| Career history | |
| 2014–2015 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2014 | →Fort Wayne Mad Ants |
| 2014–2015 | →Austin Spurs |
| 2015–2017 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2016 | →Erie BayHawks |
| 2017–2018 | Orlando Magic |
| 2017–2018 | →Lakeland Magic |
| 2018 | Panathinaikos |
| 2018–2019 | Nanjing Monkey King |
| 2019 | Panathinaikos |
| 2019–2020 | ASVEL |
| 2021 | Ormanspor |
| 2021–2022 | Juventus Utena |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 429 (4.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 315 (2.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 66 (0.6 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Adreian DeAngleo Payne (February 19, 1991 – May 9, 2022) was an American professionalbasketball player. He played in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) for theAtlanta Hawks,Minnesota Timberwolves, andOrlando Magic as well as for several European and Asian teams. Payne playedcollege basketball for theMichigan State Spartans.
Payne played high school basketball forJefferson High School. He posted averages of 15.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocks as a senior. As a senior, he led Jefferson to a Division IV state championship and a 19–5 record. TheDayton Daily News named him first-team All-Area.[1] He was named a fourth-teamParade All-American.[2]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adreian Payne C | Dayton, OH | Jefferson | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Oct 29, 2009 | |
Recruit ratings:Scout:  Rivals: (95) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 8 Rivals: 5 | ||||||
Sources:
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As a freshman atMichigan State University, Payne averaged 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, playing in 34 games.[1] During that year he was diagnosed with permanent reduced lung capacity, an ailment which affected his stamina.[3][4][5]
In his sophomore season, he led theSpartans in blocks (39) and finished seventh in the Big 10. In 37 games (36 starts), he averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He was an Academic All-Big Ten selection.[1]
As a junior, Payne led the Big Ten in free-throw percentage (.848) and blocked a total of 46 shots, good for sixth all-time for a Michigan State player. In 36 games (24 starts), he averaged 10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game.[1] Payne was named to the Second Team All Big Ten, along with Michigan State teammatesKeith Appling andGary Harris.[6]
Coming into his senior year, Payne was on the preseasonNaismith andWooden Award watchlists.[7][8]CBS Sports selected him to the preseason Third TeamAll-America.[9] He was named to the Midseason Wooden Award Top 25 watchlist.[10] Payne was twice named Big Ten Player of the Week.[11][12] He missed seven games due to an ankle injury.[13] At the conclusion of the regular season Payne was named Second Team All-Big Ten.[14]
The Michigan State big man scored 41 points in a 93–78 win over Delaware, setting the pace for the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Moreover, Payne shot 17 of 17 from the free-throw line, which set an NCAA Tournament record for most free throws made in a game without a miss.
During the 2013–14 college basketball season, Payne's friendship with Lacey Holsworth, an 8-year-old cancer patient, gained national media attention.[15] Their friendship started when Payne met Holsworth during a team-sponsored hospital visit in 2011 and the two began to text and talk frequently afterward.[16] Holsworth, who hadneuroblastoma, accompanied Payne at center court on Senior Night and helped him cut down the nets after2013–14 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team won theBig Ten men's basketball tournament.[17] Holsworth, also known as "Princess Lacey", died from her cancer on April 8, 2014.[18]
On June 26, 2014, Payne was selected with the 15th overall pick in the2014 NBA draft by theAtlanta Hawks.[19] On July 25, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Hawks after averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds during the2014 NBA Summer League.[20] After managing five preseason games for the Hawks, he was ruled out for the start of the regular season withplantar fasciitis in his left foot.[21] He subsequently missed the first ten games of the season with the injury, and upon his return, he was assigned to theFort Wayne Mad Ants of theNBA Development League on November 20.[22] He was recalled by the Hawks on November 23,[23] reassigned on November 28,[24] and recalled again on December 6.[25]
With the maximum allowance of four NBA players already being on assignment to the Mad Ants, the flexible assignment rule was used on December 9 so the Hawks could assign Payne to theAustin Spurs, theSan Antonio Spurs' one-to-one D-League affiliate.[26] On December 22, he was recalled by the Hawks,[27] going on to make his long-awaited NBA debut four days later against theMilwaukee Bucks. He recorded 2 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes of action as the Hawks lost 107–77.[28] On December 30, the flexible assignment rule was again used to assign Payne to Austin.[29] He was recalled again on January 12, 2015.[30]
On February 10, 2015, Payne was traded to theMinnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a protected future first-round pick.[31] On March 9, 2015, while starting in place ofKevin Garnett, he had a season-best game with 16 points, and 15 rebounds in an 89–76 loss to theLos Angeles Clippers.[32]
On October 21, 2015, the Timberwolves exercised their third-year team option on Payne's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.[33] On January 25, 2016, using the flexible assignment rule, he was assigned to theErie BayHawks, theD-League affiliate of theOrlando Magic.[34] He was recalled by the Timberwolves on February 1.[35]
On February 7, 2017, Payne was ruled out indefinitely with a blood condition, having been treated forlow platelet counts.[36][37] He returned to action in late March.[38]
On August 21, 2017, Payne signed atwo-way contract with theOrlando Magic.[39] Under the stipulations of the deal, he spent the majority of the 2017–18 season with Orlando'sNBA G League affiliate, theLakeland Magic. On January 26, 2018, he was waived by Orlando after his name surfaced in an alleged sexual assault dating back to his freshman year in college. After an investigation, no charges were filed.[40][41]
On February 5, 2018, Payne signed with thePanathinaikos of theGreek Basketball League for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. His best game yet was against Spanish clubValencia recording 12 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in 17 minutes. In the last game of theEuroLeague regular season, againstOlimpia Milano, he started for the first time. He finished the regular season averaging 3.5 points and 4 rebounds a game in a total of eight matches played.[42]
Payne started the season 2018–19 with theNanjing Tongxi Monkey King of theChinese Basketball Association, where he averaged 16.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.[43][44]
On January 12, 2019, Payne andPanathinaikos reached an agreement that would bring the player back in Greece for a second stint with the EuroLeague club.[45] On January 13, 2019,Panathinaikos signed the center to a deal for the remainder of the season.[46]On February 17, 2019, Payne helpedPanathinaikos BC to win theGreek Basketball Cup title againstPAOK BC (79–73). The final was held inHeraklion, Sports Indoor Arena,Crete. Payne's second stint with the Greek club proved to be briefer than his first, as he was released on March 13, 2019.[47]
On March 19, 2019,ASVEL Basket of the FrenchLNB Pro A announced that they had signed Payne.[48] With ASVEL, Payne won the2019 Pro A championship as well as theFrench Cup that year.[49]
On February 25, 2021, Payne signed withOGM Ormanspor of the TurkishBasketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[50]
In December 2021, Payne signed with theJuventus Utena of theLithuanian Basketball League.[51][52] He averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Payne parted ways with the team on February 17, 2022.[53]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Atlanta | 3 | 0 | 6.3 | .286 | .000 | .500 | 1.3 | .0 | .3 | .0 | 1.7 |
| 2014–15 | Minnesota | 29 | 22 | 24.8 | .418 | .125 | .659 | 5.4 | 1.0 | .6 | .3 | 7.2 |
| 2015–16 | Minnesota | 52 | 2 | 9.3 | .366 | .281 | .654 | 2.1 | .6 | .3 | .2 | 2.5 |
| 2016–17 | Minnesota | 18 | 0 | 7.5 | .426 | .200 | .737 | 1.8 | .4 | .4 | .4 | 3.5 |
| 2017–18 | Orlando | 5 | 0 | 8.6 | .700 | .667 | .833 | 1.8 | .0 | .4 | .0 | 4.2 |
| Career | 107 | 24 | 13.1 | .406 | .254 | .680 | 2.9 | .6 | .4 | .3 | 4.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Panathinaikos | 12 | 1 | 9.5 | .579 | .000 | .542 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 |
| Career | 12 | 1 | 9.5 | .579 | .000 | .542 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 | |
On May 9, 2022, Payne was fatally shot inOrlando, Florida, after he and his girlfriend had travelled to the home of Lawrence Dority in an attempt to prevent adomestic dispute.[54] Payne was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Dority claimed he felt threatened by Payne's 6'10" height and believed Payne was reaching for a weapon,[54] but he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after police determined that Payne had not posed a threat.[54][55][56]