Adreian Payne shot dead in Florida / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Imago Images – Scanpix Credit Imago Images – Scanpix

Adreian Payne died in a shooting in Florida at the age of 31, police confirmed.

Adreian Payne

Position:PF, CHeight:208 cmWeight:111 kgBirth place:Daytona, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Payne was shot at 1:37 a.m. on Monday in Orlando and died at a local hospital. His alleged shooter, identified by the Orange County Sheriff's Office as Lawrence Dority, was apprehended at the scene and has been arrested on a warrant for first-degree murder.

Payne played at Michigan State from 2010 to 2014. He was a first-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, going No. 15 overall to the Atlanta Hawks.

Payne went on to play for the Hawks (2014-15), Minnesota Timberwolves (2015-17), and Orlando Magic (2017-18).

His NBA numbers marked 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds over 107 games.

In 2018, his career shifted overseas. Payne represented Panathinaikos Athens (2018, 2019) and ASVEL Villeurbanne (2019-20) in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague competition.

In total, he played 29 duels in the strongest continental league and posted averages of 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 7.2 PIR.

His last team to date was Al Sadd in Qatar. "He spent two months with us and only managed to play one game," his former teammate Zisis Sarikopoulos told SDNA.

"As soon as I found out, I informed the team and our coach. We are all shocked, we can't believe this has happened. I am very sad, I have no words. He leaves behind a family and a child. What can you say at times like this?" the Greek center said.

Talking about Payne, Sarikopoulos said he didn't know the American big man had "any problems".

"We hung out. He was a calm person, a very good kid. It struck me that there was a shooting, and I don't think he could have been involved," he concluded.

Before Qatar, Payne had played for Juventus Utena in Lithuania. He averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. Payne parted ways with the team on February 17, 2022.

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