Yesterday, tragic news hit the basketball world as it was revealed that former NBA star and Michigan State standout Adreian Payne had been shot and killed at the age of 31. A man is currently in custody for the shooting, and those who knew Payne the best are in the midst of grieving their loss.
One person who knew Payne well was Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, who played with Payne at Michigan State. After defeating the Memphis Grizzlies last night, Green acknowledged Payne's passing and how it was making it hard for him to do a press conference.
"I'm going to go home and talk about Adreian," Draymond said. "I apologize. I will give you guys the greatest press conference after Wednesday's game. But I just don't have it in me tonight. I truly apologize."
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Green did go on to say that he and his wife are planning on donating $100K to charity in Payne's name. Green also called out others in the Spartans community, urging them to do something similar.
"I call on my Spartan family, coach (Tom) Izzo, Magic (Johnson), Jaren Jackson, Miles Bridges ... all of my Spartan family, to come in," he said. "Let's do something in honor of Adreian."
This donation will go a long way, and we're sure Payne's family will be appreciative of the gesture.
