Elfrid Payton Trademarks

Elfrid Payton is a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. He plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns.

Elfrid Payton Jr. was born in Gretna, Louisiana on February 22, 1994. He is the son of Elfrid Payton, a former professional Canadian football player. He played high school basketball at John Ehret High School in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, and was unranked nationally as a recruit coming out of high school. He opted to attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Payton had a breakout season during his sophomore year at the University of Louisiana, averaging almost 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists per game with two and a half steals. This earned him first-team All-Conference honors. After this performance, he was asked to represent the United States in the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship where the USA won gold. As a junior, Payton averaged 19.2 points per game along with six rebounds and six assists per game, and he helped to lead his team to the 2014 NCAA Tournament. He was named first-team All-Conference and Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. Payton decided not to return to the University of Louisiana for his senior year and instead, declared for the NBA Draft.

In the 2014 draft, he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers but was then immediately traded to the Orlando Magic. Payton debuted for the Magic that season and went on to become the first rookie in their organization to record three consecutive games of triple-doubles. He started in 63 of the 82 games that he played in and averaged 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game. He was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Payton played well in his second professional season but missed several games due to an ankle injury. He recorded 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game that year. During the 2016-2017 season, he recorded five triple-doubles. He averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game. A hamstring injury sidelined Payton early in the season, but he started in all 44 games that he played for the Magic that season. During the shortened season, Payton averaged 13 points per game, with four rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. During the mid-season, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. During his brief stay there, he started and played in 19 games, during which he recorded two triple-doubles and averaged more than 11 points per game.

In the summer of 2018, Payton signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. He played in their season opener, where he recorded a triple-double, the eleventh of his career. He then missed nine games due to an ankle sprain only to return and injure his finger requiring another six weeks away from the court. Upon his return, he had a five-game streak where he recorded a triple-double in every game. During his season with the Pelicans, Payton played in 42 games and averaged more than 10 points, five rebounds, and seven assists per game.

During the off-season, he signed a two-year contract with the New York Knicks. Payton would miss a total of 17 games at the start of the season due to multiple injuries. He averaged ten points per game in both seasons that he played for the Knicks, but he didn’t statistically produce as many rebounds and assists as he had for previous teams. However, he did start both playoff games that he played in for the Knicks, and he had a total of two points in the 13 minutes that he played.

Before the start of the 2021-2022 season, Payton signed with the Phoenix Suns with whom he had spent a partial season in 2018. He only started in one of the 50 games that he played for them and recorded three points, 1.8 rebounds, and two assists per game. Payton appeared in two playoff games for the Suns, where he played less than eight minutes combined in the two games and scored a total of two points.

In 2019, Elfrid Payton Jr. obtained a federal trademark registration for “ELFRID PAYTON EP ELITE” for athletic shirts and shorts, t-shirts, and short and long-sleeved shirts.