Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Elfrid Payton is a pass-first NBA point guard known for his playmaking, transition offense, defensive instincts, and ability to create scoring opportunities for teammates across stops with the Orlando Magic, New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, and New York Knicks. His player profile highlights a floor general archetype built on court vision, rebounding from the guard position, and relentless pace rather than perimeter shooting.

Here’s the detailed profile of Elfrid Payton:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Elfrid Payton Jr.
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born February 22, 1994
  • Hometown: Gretna, Louisiana, USA
  • Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
  • Weight: 195 lbs (88 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
  • Shoe Size: Size 13 (US)
  • Number: #2 (primarily)
  • Position: Point Guard
  • High School: John Ehret High School, Marrero, Louisiana
  • College: University of Louisiana at Lafayette (2011–2014)
  • NBA Draft: Selected 10th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers (traded to the Orlando Magic on draft night)
  • Teams Played For:
    • Orlando Magic (2014–2018)
    • Phoenix Suns (2018)
    • New Orleans Pelicans (2018–2019)
    • New York Knicks (2019–2021)
    • Phoenix Suns (2021–2022)
  • Championship Rings: No NBA Championships as of 2024
  • Kids: Elfrid Payton has one son, born in 2018.
  • Siblings: Elfrid has five siblings.

Player Archetype / Play Style

Elfrid Payton’s player archetype was that of a pass-first slashing point guard, a tall lead ball-handler whose best work came from pushing pace, getting downhill, creating for teammates, and defending at the point of attack. At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, he had solid size for the position, and defensively he fit as an aggressive perimeter guard who used his length, anticipation, and activity to pressure ball-handlers, jump passing lanes, and hold up better than many point guards in physical matchups. Offensively, Payton operated as a drive-and-kick organizer more than a floor-spacing guard, doing his damage with penetration, transition play, paint touches, and table-setting rather than outside shooting. His overall play style was energetic, unselfish, and rhythm-based, with rebounding and playmaking giving him added value when the game opened up and let him attack in space. (NBA)

Scouting Report

Watching Elfrid Payton, I’ve always come back to the same thought: his game begins with pressure. Not scoring pressure, but pressure on the structure of a defence. He gets two feet into the paint consistently because he changes pace well, keeps his dribble alive and is patient enough to wait for a help defender to commit before threading passes through narrow windows to the dunker spot or weak-side corner. That’s where he’s most comfortable. Asking him to play off the ball is a different conversation. Defenders are happy to duck under ball screens or sink into the lane, which shrinks driving gaps and forces his team to compensate with shooting around him. The trade-off is obvious, but it doesn’t erase what he does well. Defensively, he uses his size at the point of attack to disrupt rhythm more than produce steals, steering ball-handlers toward help, fighting over picks and making simple initiation actions take an extra second. What stands out is that he rarely looks rushed with the ball in transition either; he’ll advance it quickly if there’s an advantage, but he’s equally willing to slow down and flow into early pick-and-rolls before the defence is fully organised. He isn’t the guard you want taking difficult pull-up jumpers late in the clock, and teams that switch smaller defenders off him without fearing the jumper can flatten his offensive impact. But surround him with movement shooters, a vertical roll threat and wings who cut decisively once he turns the corner, and his strengths become much easier to appreciate because he naturally creates passing angles that don’t exist for many guards. To me, his style sits somewhere between Andre Miller and Kendall Marshall—floor generals who manipulated positioning with patience and vision rather than shot-making, trusting that the right read would eventually produce the right shot.

Sources:
NBA.com — Elfrid Payton | Guard | New Orleans Pelicans
Basketball-Reference — Elfrid Payton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more
SBNation — The big Elfrid Payton scouting report: Meet the NBA Draft’s mystery man
NBA Draft Room — Elfrid Payton NBA Draft Scouting Report