Cameron Payne is an American professional basketball player who has been playing for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA since 2020. Payne was honored for scoring the 1000th point of his career at Murray State, Kentucky, in 2015.
He holds jersey number 15 as a point guard who never feels entitled to anything. He earned first-team All-OVC honors and was named Freshman of the Year by the conference during his collegiate career.

Besides, Payne balances optimism and expressive arts as he has solid passes; however, he is not a great deal of a shooter.
Payne, against the defending champion Golden State Warriors (130–119 win), recorded his career-high of 29 points in 2022.
We have highlighted his general facts in the table below.
Quick Facts | Cameron Payne
Full Name | Cameron Payne |
Date Of Birth | August 8, 1994 |
Birth Place | Bartlett, Tennessee, United States |
Nick Name | N/A |
Religion | Christianity |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | White |
Zodiac Sign | Leo |
Age | 28 Years Old |
Height | 6 ft 3 in/1.91 m/191 cm |
Weight | 190 lbs/86 kgs |
Hair Color | Black |
Eye Color | Black |
Build | Athletic |
Father’s Name | Tony Payne |
Mother’s Name | Leshawn Payne |
Siblings | An Elder Brother, Tony Jr. Payne |
Education | Lausanne Collegiate High School Murray State University |
Marital Status | Unmarried |
Girlfriend | Lisa (@elle.diddy) |
Profession | Basketball Player |
Position | Point Guard |
Jersey Number | 15 |
Affiliations |
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Active Years | 2015-Present |
Networth | $1 Million – $5 Million |
Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
Merch | Books |
Last Update | January 2024 |
Physical Attributes
Cameron is an athletic man standing at 1.91 m tall while weighing 190 lbs.
He has a tan complexion, short curled hair, black eyes, and an oval-shaped face.
Cameron Payne | Early Life
Payne was born on August 8, 1994, to his parents, Tony Payne and Leshawn Payne. He grew up with his elder brother Tony Jr. Payne in Bartlett, Tennessee, United States.
He was born under the star sign of Leo.

Equally important, their whole family is basketball-crazy. Payne’s older brother Tony Jr. was a point guard and played at Lane College, a Division II school in Jackson, Tennessee.
Similarly, his father, Tony Sr., used to be a point guard in high school; later, he served as an AAU coach for years.
Cameron Payne | Education & Early Career
High School
Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee. During his sophomore year, he was 1.65 m but grew up to be 1.82 m until his senior days.
During his tenure in Lausanne, he led them to a 2013 Division II state title in Tennessee and won the 2A Private School championship.
Moreover, he was titled Mr. Basketball, with an average of 20 points and 10 assists per game.

Despite all these, he wasn’t a heavily scouted player by collegiate programs. Although he was not ranked in the top 100 prospects, he was a three-star recruit by Rivals.com.
Later, he was recruited by coach William Small to play college basketball at Murray State, transforming him from a little-known college recruit to a potential NBA lottery pick.
College
Payne commenced his freshman year as a point guard as Zay Jackson was on the injured list. During his foremost years, he averaged 16.8 points, 5.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game.
Following it, Payne began his collegiate career in the team’s opener at Valparaiso, recording an average of 21 points, five boards, and four assists.
At the same time, he earned his first-team All-OVC honors and was named freshman of the year by the conference.
Payne averaged 20.2 points for his sophomore season, 6.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game, thus, bagging the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.
After it, Cameron opted to declare for the NBA Draft on April 4.
Cameron Payne | Professional Career
Oklahoma City Thunder
2015–16 season
Oklahoma City Thunder selected Payne in the 2015 NBA Draft with the 14th overall pick on June 25. Before entering into NBA, Payne had broken his ring finger; fortunately, it was not a big deal to lead him into surgery.
His rookie deal only came on July 10, while he debuted for the team on November 1.
His debut was a match against the Denver Nuggets, where he recorded three assists in four minutes, which was an eventual 117–93 win.
On December 5, they signed Payne into the Oklahoma City Blue (the Thunder’s D-League affiliate), calling him back the following day. Similarly, it continued as they reassigned him on December 15, calling him back the following day.
Cameron featured in another 131–123 win match over the Milwaukee Bucks with a 16-point effort on December 29.
Additionally, Payne had his first career-high on April 12, 2016, with 17 points and seven assists in a 102–98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
2016–17 season
Before the training camp opening, Payne successfully repaired his fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot on July 25, 2016.
Thus, he had good training in his two days; however, he suffered an acute fracture to his fifth metatarsal in the team’s Blue-White scrimmage. As a result, he had to miss out on the first two months of the season.

Payne returned to the Thunder on January 7 for the first time in the 2016–17 season and made his debut that night.
Consequently, he had eight points in 13 minutes against the Denver Nuggets. He had his season-high stats on February 9, 2017, with 15 points in a 118–109 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Chicago Bulls (2017–2019)
On February 23, 2017, Oklahoma City Thunder traded Payne alongside Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott.
As in the Thunder, Payne was first affiliated with the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ D-League affiliate for the 2016–17 season.
Moving forward, Payne was named the tank commander, and from September 8, 2017, he missed the games for three to four months as he had undergone surgery on his right foot two days prior.
Therefore, he made his season debut against the Philadelphia 76ers, resulting in a 116–115 loss on February 22, 2018.
Likewise, he had to face a 118–105 loss over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 23, 2018; however, he could record his career-high of 17 points and six assists.
Nearing the end of the year 2018, Payne bagged his career-high of 21 points and 7 for 11 on 3-pointers in the match of October 24, which came as a 112–110 win over the Charlotte Hornets. The bulls waived him off on January 3, 2019.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2019)
Three days later, on January 6, Payne dealt a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, thus, adding another 10-day on January 16.
During his tenure, he appeared in 9 games for the Cavaliers. As the contract ended, he bid goodbye to the team.
Toronto Raptors (2019)
Toronto Raptors signed Payne on July 15, and he played for 12 minutes against the Houston Rockets.
During the match on October 8, he had 4 points, 1 assist, and 1 rebound. Afterward, the Raptors released him on October 19.

Shanxi Loongs (2019–2020)
As Payne joined the Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association on November 12, 2019, he featured in two games for the team, scoring 22.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 4.5 steals per contest.
He averaged 23.2 points, 8.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 thefts for the Legends. Later, Shaxi Loongs replaced him on January 2, 2020.
Texas Legends (2020)
Texas Legends signed Payne on January 25, 2020. On March 3, Payne had an average score of 3.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game, playing 15 games with the team.
Thus, as he led the Legends to their perfect 3-0 record for the week, Payne was named the NBA G-League Player of the Week.
Phoenix Suns (2020 – Present)
On June 30, 2020, Payne signed a contract with the Phoenix Suns and debuted on July 31 in the 2020 NBA Bubble.
During the competition, they faced the Washington Wizards, and he recorded 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals on a plus-minus of +21 as the match eventually came in a 125–112 win.
On August 7, Payne faced the Indiana Pacers, which came in a 114–99 win as he made his season-high 15 points.

Similarly, he recorded another season-high in a blowout over the 128–102 win against the Dallas Mavericks.
By the end of the 2020 NBA Bubble, Payne had appeared in a total of 8 games, all of which came with victory while coming off the bench and having his highest-scoring season averages in the NBA.
On June 22, 2021, Payne recorded a career-high in the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Clippers, 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, but the Suns lost the series in 6 games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Over the New York Knicks, Payne recorded a career-high 16 assists to go with 17 points in a 115–114 win on March 4, 2022.
On November 16, 2022, Payne, against the champion Golden State Warriors, recorded his career-high of 29 points in a 130–119 win.
Cameron has a foot injury and hasn’t played, marking his seventh straight absence.
Cameron Payne | Career Stats
2020–21 | Phoenix | 60 | 1 | 18.0 | .484 | .440 | .893 | 2.4 | 3.6 | .6 | .3 |
2021–22 | Phoenix | 58 | 12 | 22.0 | .409 | .336 | .843 | 3.0 | 4.9 | .7 | .3 |
Cameron Payne | Awards & Highlights
- OVC Player of the Year (2015)
- Lute Olson Award (2015)
- 2× First-team All-OVC (2014 & 2015)
- OVC Freshman of the Year (2014)
Net Worth
Payne is still a young player making his mark on the field. He has an estimated net worth of $1 million – $5 million.
His agent is Jason Glushon of Glushon Sports Management.
Cameron Payne signed a 3-year / $19 million contract with the Phoenix Suns in 2020, including $14.5 million guaranteed and an annual average salary of $6.33 million.
In 2022-23, Payne earns a base salary of $6 million while carrying a cap hit of $6 million and a dead cap value of $6 million.
In 2023-2024, he will earn a base salary of $6.5 million while carrying a cap hit of $6.5 million and $2 million guaranteed.
The Popular Graph
The search graph of Cameron is not high lately but is aiming to go higher.

This can be due to his injury, due to which he is not attending games.
Trivia
- The Lute Olson award was given to Cameron in 2015.
- In the 2015 NBA Draft, he was drafted 14th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- Payne Is a Point Guard who belongs to Murray State.
- In 2014-15 Payne averaged over 20 points per game.
- Cameron comes from a sports background.
Cameron Payne | Girlfriend, Rumor & Social Media
Currently, Payne is supposedly dating LA girl Lisa (@elle.diddy), who is known for her Instagram.
Earlier, he had a rumor about dating the Instagram model Aaleeyah Petty. The news about their relationship came to light in 2016 when they shared a picture on Instagram with the same backdrop on Christmas day.
- Instagram: 202k followers
- Twitter: 38k followers
FAQs
Is Cameron injured?
Payne hasn’t played since Dec 13 due to a right foot strain.
What jersey number does Cameron wear?
Currently, Cameron plays for Phoenix Suns and wears jersey number 15.
What team does Cameron Payne play for?
Cameron Payne, an American basketball player, signed the three years contract with the Phoenix Suns in 2020 and is still with them.
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