Troy Payne (born May 8, 1988) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for

Citrus College Citrus College is a public community college in Glendora, California. The Citrus Community College District, which supports the institution, includes the communities of Azusa, Claremont, Duarte, Glendora, and Monrovia. Citrus Union High Scho ...

and

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

, and played professionally in Australia and New Zealand.

High school career

Payne attended

Dorsey High School Susan Miller Dorsey High School, commonly referred to as Dorsey High School, is a secondary public school located in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles, California. It is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. History The school ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where as a senior in 2006–07, he averaged 16.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

College career

Payne played two seasons of

for

, helping the Owls win a conference championship and a state title in his freshman season. He earned All- WSC Honorable Mention honors after averaging 6.9 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game in 2007–08. As a sophomore in 2008–09, he was named to the first-team all-state JUCO team and was named the conference MVP. Citrus won back-to-back conference titles for the first time in school history and made a Sweet 16 appearance. Payne finished the season with averages of 10.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Payne transferred to Santa Clara for the 2009–10 season, going on to lead the team in steals (52) and being the only player to start every game. In 32 games, he averaged 4.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 24.5 minutes per game. As a senior in 2010–11, he was named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year. In 38 games for the Broncos, he averaged 5.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 steals in 24.5 minutes per game.

Professional career

In November 2011, Payne spent preseason with the

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

after being selected with the final pick in the D-League draft. After working as an intern with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

basketball operations department during the

2011–12 NBA season The 2011–12 NBA season was the 66th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to the 2011 NBA lockout, lockout, the regular season was reduced to 66 games for each team, and began on December 25, 2011, coinciding with NBA Christm ...

, Payne signed to play in Australia in November 2012. He made professional debut in 2013 with the

NW Tasmania Thunder The North-West Tasmania Thunder are an Australian basketball team based in Ulverstone, Tasmania. The Thunder compete in the Men's NBL1 South and play their home games at the Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre. Team history The franchise began i ...

in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

. In 28 games for the Thunder, he averaged 14.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. In March 2014, Payne signed with the

Otago Nuggets The Otago Nuggets are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Dunedin. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Edgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the ...

for the 2014 New Zealand NBL season. On April 21, 2014, he recorded a triple-double with 17 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds and five steals in a 77–76 loss to the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as ...

. On May 22, 2014, he was released by the Nuggets. In eight games, he averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.1 steals per game.

Personal

Payne is the son of Jerome Payne and the late Sandra Benjamin, and has six siblings: Tyrell, Jay, Andre and Monique Payne; and Tavon and Richard Walker.

References

External links

Australiabasket.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Troy 1988 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American men's basketball players Basketball players from Los Angeles Citrus Owls men's basketball players Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball players Small forwards Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni Otago Nuggets players