Education
Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee.
Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee.
He played college basketball for Murray State. 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 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 little-known college recruit to a potential National Basketball Association 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 at Valparaiso. Payne wound up earning first-team All-OVC honors and was named freshman of the year by the conference.
Despite being initially nervous, Payne opted to leave for the National Basketball Association after his sophomore season.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2015–present)Editorial
During workouts prior to the National Basketball Association 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 Oklahoma City Thunder with the 14th overall pick in the 2015 National Basketball Association draft.
On July 10, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Thunder.
On December 5, he was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder"s Doctorate-League affiliate. He was recalled by the Thunder on December 6, reassigned on December 15, and recalled again on December 16.