Former NBA player Adreian Payne dies in Florida shooting at 31

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) – Former NBA player Adreian Payne died after he was fatally shot in Orlando, Florida on Monday morning, police said. He was 31.

The Orange County Sherriff in Orlando said it responded to a call at 1.37 a.m. (0537GMT) that a man had been shot dead. He was taken to a hospital where he pronounced dead. The victim was later identified as Payne.

Payne spent four seasons in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic.

He later moved to EuroLeague teams Panathinakos and ASVEL. Payne won one Greek League championship with Panathinaikos.

He later joined Turkish club OGM Ormanspor before moving to Lithuanian team BC Juventus in 2021.

The Greek club Panathinaikos offered its condolences over the death of Payne.

"We are shocked by the news about the unfortunate loss of our former player. Our sincere condolences to Adreian Payne’s family. #RIP #AdreianPayne," it said on Twitter.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague also offered its condolences to the family, friends and former teams of Payne via its official Twitter account.