Cameron Payne never ceases to amaze. After a complicated start to his career, to the point of having come close to leaving the road early in the NBA, he hasn’t stopped surprising since Phoenix drafted him to finish the 2019-2020 season in the bubble.
Precious behind Chris Paul during the following season which had seen the Suns reach the Finals, he confirmed in 2021-2022 by posting his best career stats. Since Chris Paul was injured, he’s back in the forefront, still with the same confidence and formidable efficiency, in a different style from CP3, less of a passer but more of a compulsive scorer.
“For me, he is getting better and better with every game”, recognized Devin Booker. “He has different responsibilities. It’s a new role. Everything is new, and we just tell him to be aggressive, to play his basketball and we feed on that energy”.
The reflection of a fulfilled player
Monty Williams has also seen the evolution of the one who arrived on tiptoe in Arizona, aware that it was perhaps his last chance in the NBA. A little over two years later, he managed to reach this level through his work and the confidence accumulated in this environment.
“It has come to a point where there is a certain level of trust with me”confirmed coach Williams. “He’s had time, with Chris Paul away, to settle into that role and I don’t want him to slack off when Chris comes back. We want him to play the same way he is doing right now.”
For Cameron Payne, this is an opportunity to continue his accelerated learning. So far, he’s more than meeting expectations as he’s finished over 20 points in three of the six games he’s started, peaking at 29 points and seven assists in the win over the Warriors. He is downright the 4th best scorer of the team!
“Being on the pitch longer allows you to see my game as a whole, rather than just having a snippet », he told the press. “Clearly it helps me to be on the pitch longer, to be able to keep playing even if I make mistakes, which I couldn’t do in my previous years. They took me straight away. I made a lot of videos and I learned a lot. It made me a stronger player.”
Above all, it allows Chris Paul, still injured in his heel, not to rush his return and to take the time to come back to 100%. Phoenix will therefore still need a great Cameron Payne tonight for the reception of the Lakers.
| Cameron Payne | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | OKAY | 57 | 12 | 41.0 | 32.4 | 79.2 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| 2016-17* | All Teams | 31 | 15 | 33.2 | 31.4 | 62.5 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 5.2 |
| 2016-17* | OKAY | 20 | 16 | 33.1 | 30.8 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 5.3 |
| 2016-17* | CHI | 11 | 13 | 33.3 | 32.4 | 25.0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 4.9 |
| 2017-18 | CHI | 25 | 23 | 40.5 | 38.5 | 75.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 8.8 |
| 2018-19 * | All Teams | 40 | 18 | 43.0 | 29.8 | 80.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| 2018-19 * | CHI | 31 | 17 | 41.1 | 27.1 | 88.0 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 5.7 |
| 2018-19 * | KEY | 9 | 20 | 49.1 | 36.0 | 68.8 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 8.2 |
| 2019-20 | PHX | 8 | 23 | 48.5 | 51.7 | 85.7 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 10.9 |
| 2020-21 | PHX | 60 | 18 | 48.4 | 44.0 | 89.3 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 8.4 |
| 2021-22 | PHX | 58 | 22 | 40.9 | 33.6 | 84.3 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 4.9 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 10.8 |
| 2022-23 | PHX | 14 | 24 | 44.2 | 42.3 | 85.2 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 14.1 |
| Total | 293 | 18 | 42.3 | 36.7 | 83.2 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 8.0 | |
