Payne attended Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew from 5'5' as a freshman to 6'0 as a senior. Despite leading Lausanne Collegiate to a 2013 Division II state title in Tennessee, Payne was not a heavily scouted player by collegiate programs. He was considered to be a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and was not ranked in the top 100 prospects. He was recruited by William Small to play college basketball at Murray State, choosing the Racers over a few other schools. Payne then went from a little-known college recruit to a potential NBA lottery pick.
College career
As a freshman, Payne averaged 16.8 points, 5.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. He was forced to start at point guard as a freshman due to an injury to Zay Jackson, and began his collegiate career registering 21 points, five boards and four assists in the team's opener at Valparaiso. Payne earned first-team All-OVC honors and was named freshman of the year by the conference. As a sophomore, he was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year after he averaged 20.2 points, 6.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. Payne opted to declare for the NBA Draft after his sophomore season.
During workouts prior to the NBA draft, Payne broke the ring finger on his non-shooting hand. The injury did not require surgery. On June 25, 2015 Payne was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 14th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. On July 10, 2015, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Thunder. He made his debut for the Thunder on November 1 in a 117–93 win over the Denver Nuggets, recording three assists in four minutes. On December 5, he was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder's D-League affiliate. He was recalled on December 6, reassigned on December 15, and recalled again on December 16. On December 29, he had a 16-point effort in a 131–123 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. In the Thunder's regular season finale on April 12, 2016, Payne recorded career highs of 17 points and seven assists in a 102–98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
2016–17 season
On July 25, 2016, Payne underwent a successful procedure to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He recovered quickly and was cleared to practice when training camp opened. He went through full contact during the Thunder's first two days of practice, but on September 27, he suffered an acute fracture to his fifth metatarsal in the team's Blue-White Scrimmage. As a result, he missed the first two months of the 2016–17 season. After spending six days with the Oklahoma City Blue in early January, Payne joined the Thunder playing group for the first time in 2016–17 on January 7. He subsequently made his season debut that night, scoring eight points in 13 minutes against the Denver Nuggets. On February 9, 2017, he scored a season-high 15 points in a 118–109 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On February 23, 2017, Payne was traded, along with Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round draft pick. During the 2016–17 season, Payne had multiple assignments with the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls' D-League affiliate. On September 8, 2017, Payne was ruled out for three to four months after undergoing surgery on his right foot two days prior. He was known as the tank commander. He made his season debut for the Bulls on February 22, 2018 in a 116–115 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On March 23, 2018, he had a career-high 17 points and six assists in a 118–105 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. On October 24, 2018, Payne scored all of his career-high 21 points in the second half of the Bulls' 112–110 win over the Charlotte Hornets, going 7 for 11 on 3-pointers. On January 3, 2019, he was waived by the Bulls.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2019)
On January 6, 2019, Payne signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. On January 16, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Cavaliers. He parted ways with the Cavaliers following the expiration of his second 10-day contract.
On July 25, 2019, Payne signed a contract with the Toronto Raptors. On October 8, 2019 Payne played for 12 minutes against the Houston Rockets and tallied 4 points, 1 assist, and 1 rebound. On October 19, 2019, the Raptors released Payne.
On November 12, 2019, Payne was reported to join the Shanxi Loongs. He played in two games for the team, averaging 22.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 4.5 steals per contest. On January 2, 2020, Payne was replaced.
On January 25, 2020, the Texas Legends announced that they had acquired Payne. During the week of March 3, 2020, Payne was named the NBA G-LeaguePlayer of the Week, averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while leading the Legends to a perfect 3-0 record for the week.
Phoenix Suns (2020–present)
On June 30, 2020, Payne agreed to a deal with the Phoenix Suns. He made his debut on July 31 in the 2020 NBA Bubble, where he recorded 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals on a plus-minus of +21 in a 125–112 win over the Washington Wizards.
