Payne fought way back to NBA
It’s hard to say when Cameron Payne’s career hit rock bottom.
Maybe it was when he bounced from the Bulls to the Cavaliers to the Mavericks to the Raptors in a matter of months? … Maybe it was when he found himself dragging his bags on a 3-mile trek across Hong Kong because no one from his new team, the Shanxi Loongs, was there to meet him at the airport? … Maybe it was when he called his father for advice about seeking a new opportunity in the G League?
It’s not hard to say, however, how Cameron Payne responded to the setbacks that could easily have broken him.
“I brought it every day,” he said. “I was banged up. Hurt. I still brought it every day.”
Payne reinvented himself, relying on optimism, perseverance and the lessons he learned as a youngster in his hometown of Memphis, where he’ll try to help the Phoenix Suns revive a winning stretch Saturday against the Grizzlies.
Payne has been battling injuries all year, but says he finally feels healthy and ready to pick up his role as a highenergy defender who can run an offense and score when needed.
It’s not who he was when he was first drafted out of Murray State, where he led the Racers in scoring. But
it’s who he needed to become to find a place in a league where every team has players capable of scoring 50 points on a given night.
“There’s so many different things that come with being on an NBA team,” Payne said. “I just felt like I had to give them the things that some other players didn’t want to do.
“That’s picking up full (court.) Every game. Every opportunity … maybe you don’t get any steals, but it’s just changing the game, giving it a bit more energy. That was my focus. Change the game when you come in. Let it be known that you’re in the game. And it wasn’t just about scoring.
“It’s all about could I do?’ ”
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Texas Legends coach George Galanopoulos had a baseline seat for the reinvention of Cameron Payne.
“From Day 1, that guy was locked in and engaged in the most simplest of drills,” Galanopoulos said.
He remembered Payne’s approach to defensive shell drills, a glorified warmup.
“That is blueprint, Day 1, training camp-type stuff … It’s not competitive. It’s not live. It’s something to get the guys warm, and you’re working on your daily habits defensively,” Galanopoulos said.
It was
Payne “could have easily rolled his eyes at it every day or just gone through the motions,” Galanopoulos said. “But what was really impressive about him was in such a simple drill that we did every day, he was loud; he was very detailoriented; and he communicated with his teammates.
“That, to me, shows how engaged a player is. … instead of shutting down and worrying about how the hell they’re going to get to the NBA.”
Payne also knew the path back to the big-time would involve winning.
“Sometimes, it ain’t all about going to the G League and being a scorer, and you get called up,” Payne said. “I’m like, ‘Nah, let’s win games.’ Winning games gets you seen. I learned that from Murray.”
The Racers, in Payne’s sophomore season, were projected to dominate the Ohio Valley Conference, but started off 2-4. No one was discussing Cameron Payne as a potential NBA guy.
Then they started winning.
“We started getting exposure,” said.
Payne eventually led Murray State on a 25-game win streak. The hotter the Racers got; the more NBA scouts and general managers showed up on campus.
“I ended up talking to some people,” Payne said. “They were like, you’re potentially a Lottery pick.”
for the Legends.
he
He was taken 14th by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015, and the future looked bright.
But during his second season, he was traded to Chicago.
From there, things got bad, and he bounced around before getting cut by the Toronto Raptors going into the 201920 season.
‘This ain’t the NBA’
China seemed like a good option, so he packed his bags, and got on a plane.
He had no idea how bad things were about to get.
“What I thought it was going to be, I was just gonna come in, bam!” he said, clapping his hands.
“Just play all these games, score all these points, and all these scouts were gonna be watching, and I was gonna be back in the NBA just like that,” he said snapping his fingers.
“Reality, I went over there. I had like nine bags. Me and my girl … we had to go to Hong Kong, walk across the border with nine bags. Suitcases full. At least like 3 miles. We walked just to get into China to fly. That was the first thing where I was like, ‘This ain’t the NBA.’ ”
His flight landed in Shanxi, a northern province, where the capital, Taiyuan, is about 7,200 miles from Memphis. It was his first time that far from home.
“The team wasn’t there to pick me up,” he said. “I had to get an Uber, and it was in Chinese.”
He wasn’t used to the accommodations, either.
The team didn’t have a chef, and his meal options were KFC or McDonalds. And he didn’t have a trainer, so he had to write his own workouts and ask his girlfriend to rebound while he shot jumpers.
He lasted
two
months
and
only
played in two games — both losses.
“I wasn’t prepared,” he said. wasn’t prepared for all of that.”
He called his father and first coach, Tony Payne, and told him he didn’t see a future in China.
“He was like, ‘All right, that’s cool with me. Come on back home, let’s get to work,’” he remembered his father saying.
Cam Payne joined the Texas Legends with one thing on his mind.
“How do I get back?” he remembered thinking. “How do I get back in the league?”
He had to reinvent himself.
But first he had to rely on the lessons he learned in college.
No one cares how you play if you aren’t winning games. That starts in practice.
“I’ve got to come with that same mentality,” he said. “I’ve got to give them hunger every day. I’ve got to show them why I’m giving them this. … It was just that constant fight of wanting to be back. And the only way I could do that is if my team was good. If we’re winning games.
“I had to lead by example. I had to bring that grit and that fire every day at practice.”
It’s all about optimism, perseverance and putting team goals first. That’s how he’s been able to stick with the Suns, becoming a vital member of a team that’s won 9 of 11 and is heading toward the playoffs for the first time in a generation.
It’s how he was able to get back to the NBA.
“You ain’t never got to stop trying,” Payne said.
“If you believe in something, you keep fighting for that. My slogan is ‘DWUKD: Don’t wake up keep dreaming.’ That’s what I live by. Because anything is possible.”
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