ORLANDO — Adreian Payne, a former Michigan State basketball standout and NBA player, has died in a shooting. He was 31.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a shooting at 1:34 a.m. Monday when Payne was identified and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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Lawrence Dority, 29, was present at the scene, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested on a first-degree murder warrant after homicide detectives interviewed him.
Payne played in 107 NBA games, averaging four points and three rebounds, over four seasons with Atlanta, Minnesota and Orlando. The Hawks drafted him No. 15 overall in 2014, traded him to the Timberwolves, and he averaged 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds as a potentially promising rookie.
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The Magic waived the 6-foot-10 forward in January, 2018, after he was part of an ESPN report that detailed sexual assault allegations against former basketball and football players at the school.
Payne played professionally earlier this year for Juventus in Lithuania. He also played in Turkey, France, Greece and China.
Payne, who is from Dayton, Ohio, started in 94 of 138 games over four seasons for Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State. He averaged 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds as a senior during the 2013-14 season.
While in college, Payne befriended 8-year-old, cancer-stricken Lacey Holsworth and spoke at her memorial ceremony in April, 2014.
