Cameron Payne’s Number to be Retired by Murray State

Racers Retire Their Twelfth Number

Editor: The following is part of a press release from goracers.com.

(Murray, KY) – Murray State Athletics announced that men’s basketball great and MSU Hall of Fame member, Cameron Payne, will have his jersey retired when the Racers host the UIC Flames (Jan. 14) at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. The special moment will occur at halftime.

“This happened at the right time,” said Payne, who wore No. 1 and is the 12^th in MSU men’s basketball to have the honor. “My time at Murray State was amazing, but I couldn’t have done it without Coach P, the staff and my teammates. The things I learned from my teammates went a long way in shaping myself and my career. Murray State changed my life and this news hits me good!”

“The last decade and a half here at Murray State have been surreal and Cameron and the teams he played on have been a big part of that,” said Murray State Head Coach, Steve Prohm. “We all know the accomplishments, but for me, Cam has been a blessing to this program and my family. Cam is so deserving of this honor and shows once again that it’s the people that make Murray State Basketball so great.”

Payne arrived at Murray State from Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis in fall of 2013 as the Racers entered the post-Isaiah Canaan era. With Canaan in the NBA, it didn’t take long for most to understand that Payne would soon be joining him.

In two successful seasons from 2013-15, Payne appeared in 69 games, scored more than 1,200 points and nearly reached 400 assists. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year. Payne joined Lamont Sleets as the only MSU freshmen to score 500 points in their rookie season.

As a sophomore, Payne was the second-fastest Racer to 1,000 career points, accomplished in 57 games. With Payne at the helm, Murray State set a school and conference record 25-game winning streak and eventually took the season all the way to the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals.

When the 2014-15 season was over, Payne announced that he was putting his name into the NBA Draft. He became an NBA lottery pick on June 25, 2015, when the Oklahoma City Thunder selected him in the first round as the 14th overall pick.

After playing for the Thunder, Bulls, Raptors and Cavaliers, Payne found a home in 2020 with the Phoenix Suns. In his four seasons with the Suns, Payne has reached his greatest heights as a professional including becoming the third Racer to play in the NBA Finals in 2021.

Payne was inducted into the Murray State Hall of Fame in 2020.

Murray State retired numbers in chronological order: (#21) Bennie Purcell 1952, (#16) Garrett Beshear 1953, (#19) Howie Crittenden 1956, (#15) Jeff Martin 1989, (#30) Paul King 1991, (#54) Popeye Jones 1992, (#26) Joe Fulks 2001, (#20) Johnny Reagan 2003, (#5) Marcus Brown 2010, (#3) Isaiah Canaan 2018, (#12) Ja Morant 2020.