OKLAHOMA CITY, July 10, 2015 – Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has signed rookie guard Cameron Payne. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Selected by the Thunder with the 14th pick in last month’s NBA Draft, Payne (6-2,180) appeared in 69 games in two seasons at Murray State, averaging 18.5 points, 5.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.81 steals in 32.4 minutes per game.
As a sophomore, Payne was named the Lute Olson Player of the Year, an award given to the top NCAA player with at least two seasons of experience, after leading the Racers to a 29-6 season, which included an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular-season championship and a pair of wins in the National Invitational Tournament.
During his sophomore season, the guard led the Racers to a 25-game winning streak (second longest in the nation) while averaging 20.2 points (13th in NCAA), 6.0 assists (15th in NCAA), 1.94 steals and 32.2 minutes in 35 games. He was named OVC MVP and Honorable Mention AP All-American. The Memphis, Tenn. native, appeared in 34 games as a freshman, averaging 16.8 points, 5.4 assists and 1.68 steals in 32.6 minutes per game. He was named All-OVC First Team, OVC Freshman of the Year and earned an MSU record nine OVC Freshman of the Week awards.