Former UL Great Elfrid Payton Has Monster Game in Knicks Win
A former Louisiana Ragin' Cajun basketball great had one of the best games of his NBA career on Sunday, helping his team to a win over one of the top teams in the league.
Former Louisiana Ragin' Cajun basketball great Elfrid Payton scored 27 points, while also dishing out seven assists, in helping the New York Knicks to a 130-110 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Payton went 12-of-16 from the field in the game, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
The 27 points were the fourth-most that Payton has scored in a single-game, with his career-high of 30 coming during the 2017-2018 season when he was a member of the Orlando Magic.
Through three games this season, Payton is averaging 11.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.9 rebounds a contest.
In October, Payton was inducted into the Ragin' Cajun Athletics Hall of Fame selection.
A native of Gretna, Louisiana, Payton averaged 10.0 points, to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists with the New York Knicks last season, his first with that organization.
The 25-year old Payton played in 42 games for the Pelicans in the 2018-2019 season, averaging 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.6 assists-per-game, after spending parts of four seasons with the Magic, as well as 19 games with the Phoenix Suns.
Payton played three years for the Cajuns, from the 2011-2012 season through the 2013-2014 campaign.
In his junior season (2013-2014) Payton emerged as one of the top defensive players in college basketball, while also averaging 19.2 points, 5.9 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game, helping lead Louisiana to the NCAA Tournament.
In that season, Payton was named first-team All-Sun Belt, the conference Defensive Player of the Year, and the National Defensive Player of the Year by winning the Lefty Driesell Award.
Following his junior season, Payton declared for the NBA Draft and was selected by the Magic with the 10th-overall pick.