More details emerge regarding shooting death of Adreian Payne

One day after news broke about the death of former Michigan State star Adreian Payne, more details are coming out about what happened.

Payne was shot and killed after a dispute in Florida, according to TMZ. Police said Payne was trying to be a “mediator” between a man and his girlfriend, and the man said he thought Payne “had no business being at his residence this late at night” and saw Payne’s “presence as a threat.” That’s why the man said his actions were justified.

The incident occurred in the early hours Monday morning in Orange County, Florida, according to police. Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press added more details via the Orange Country Sheriffs office.

“On May 9, 2022 at 1:37 a.m., Orange County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 2500 block of Egret Shores Drive regarding a shooting. A male in his 30s who had been shot, later identified as Adreian Payne (DOB: 2/19/1991), was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“The shooter, later identified as Lawrence Dority, (DOB: 2/17/1993) stayed at the scene and was transported to OSCO headquarters where he was interviewed by homicide detectives. Dority has been arrested on a warrant for First Degree Murder and transported to the Orange County Jail.”

Payne played a big role across four seasons at Michigan State, and he continuously got better throughout his career. He started six games as a freshman, averaging 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds. He jumped into a starting role as a sophomore, averaging seven points and 4.2 rebounds with 36 starts. Payne made another leap as a junior, posting a line of 10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds, also blocking 1.3 shots per game. As a senior in the 2013-2014 season, he averaged 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds, playing 28.1 minutes per game across 31 contests.

Overall, Payne averaged 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in his four-year collegiate career. He shot 52.6% from the field at Michigan State, and was also a 75.5% shooter from the free throw line.

Payne was then selected with the No. 15 overall pick int he 2014 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He played in just three games as a rookie in Atlanta before he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a future first-round pick. Payne then spent the next three years in Minnesota, and later signed with the Orlando Magic for the 2017-18 season.

On3’s Jonathan Wagner and Stephen Samra contributed to this report.