Former Michigan State standout Adreian Payne has died at the age of 31.
According to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff's office in Florida, Payne died in a shooting early Monday morning.
The statement said there was a shooting at 1:37 a.m. and that a male in his 30s who had been shot and was later identified as Payne, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The statement also says the accused shooter, who was identified as Lawrence Dority, remained at the scene and was transported to OCSO 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.
The news was first revealed on social media, as several players and former teammates posted about the loss of the native of Dayton, Ohio, who played for the Spartans from 2010-'14.
"Hate the news i received this morning.... Rest Easy to my brother/Teammate," former Ohio State star Jared Sullinger Sr. posted on Twitter.
More tributes continued Monday morning, including some who played with Payne at Michigan State as well as other former Spartans.
"Legit sick & heartbroken," said Anthony Ianni, a teammate of Payne's for two seasons at Michigan State.
Added former Spartan Nick Ward: "Wow, Rest easy AP."
Payne saw his role at Michigan State grow each season he was with the Spartans, culminating in his senior year when he was named All-Big Ten, averaging 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds and helping the Spartans reach the Elite Eight before falling to Connecticut.
After being selected by the 15th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2014 NBA Draft, Payne played parts of four seasons in the NBA with Atlanta, Minnesota and Orlando while also playing in the G League.
In 2018, Payne began playing overseas and spent the 2021-22 season with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League. He averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.
Payne's friendship with Lacey Holsworth captured the attention and hearts of the basketball world in 2014. The 8-year-old Holsworth was suffering from cancer and had become close with Payne after the team had visited her during a hospital stay.
Their friendship was followed closely throughout Payne's senior season — a feature on the Big Ten Network revealed the bond the two had — and he carried Lacey onto the Breslin Center court on Senior Day. Holsworth died on April 8 of 2014, just weeks after Michigan State's season ended and two months before Payne became a first-round pick in the NBA Draft.
