Payne was best known for his time at Michigan State where he was an All-American.
He bounced around the NBA for a few years before having a productive career overseas. Here is what we know about his death.
The Detroit Free Press has confirmed that former Michigan State basketball star Adreian Payne has died.
The former Spartan played four seasons for MSU and was a first round pick of the Atlanta Hawks in the 2014 NBA draft. He was 31 years old.
Joining the MSU program in 2010, Payne developed into an important piece as his points gradually went up each season he was in East Lansing. In his senior season, Payne averaged 16 points and seven rebounds as he helped Michigan State reach the elite eight vs. UConn.
Following his entry into the NBA, Payne spent time in both the NBA and the NBA’s G-League before going overseas in 2018. From there, Payne found plenty of success as a member of Panathinaikos, a Greek League Basketball club, winning the GBL championship in 2018, and Greek Basketball Cup in 2019.
It has been announced that Payne was shot to death.
Adreian Payne, a big man who starred at Michigan State and played four seasons in the NBA, died at 31 on Monday.
Chris Solari, who covers Michigan State for the Detroit Free Press, confirmed the news.
Payne died as a result of a shooting that took place at 1:30 a.m. in Florida, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. Payne was shot in a townhome community in the Econ Landing neighborhood. He was rushed to the hospital but pronounced dead.
The suspected shooter, 29-year-old Lawrence Dority, remained on the scene and cooperated with authorities. Dority was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder.
The Ohio native played at Michigan State under Tom Izzo from 2010-14. Payne was Second-Team All Big Ten in his junior and senior seasons. During his final campaign with the Spartans, he entered the season on the Wooden and Naismith award watch-lists and proceeded to average 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
