Cameron Payne

Payne's career is a lesson in second acts. The 14th pick of the 2015 draft out of Murray State, he washed out of his first NBA run entirely before resurfacing in Phoenix, where he became the connective bench guard on the Suns team that reached the 2021 Finals — his big scoring night in that year's Western Conference Finals a career highlight. Since then he has been a well-traveled backup point guard, the change-of-pace ball-handler teams add for shot-making and tempo off the bench, with a path that has more recently taken him overseas as well as around the league. His value has always lived in his fearlessness with the ball; the knock has been night-to-night consistency and defense.