Before joining the Knicks in the offseason, Cam Payne’s last act as a 76er was suffering defeat at the hands of Jalen Brunson and Co. in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. The epic six-game series was a heated affair. Temper flared multiple times during the series, with the two guards also butting heads. The former 76ers star said something unsavory to the Knicks superstar during their dust-up and it’s seemingly regrets saying it.
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Payne joined Brunson and Josh Hart on the latest episode of the Roommates Show, and the trio reminisced about that playoff series. They discussed the altercation between Brunson and Payne in Game 5 that happened after the latter committed a hard foul on the guard on a fast break before shoving him off the court.
Payne pleaded his innocence and said he only shoved him to prevent Brunson from trying to get a shot off, turning it into a shooting foul and getting three points off that play. He took responsibility for starting the skirmish by getting into the Knicks superstar’s face and saying, “What’s up?”
A perplexed Brunson asked the former 76er if that’s all he said. Payne enquired whether Brunson remembered his exact words, and the guard responded with an affirmative. Payne then turned to Hart and asked,
“Did [Brunson] tell you what I said? Should be news. Should we hear it out? Nah.”
Cam Payne & Jalen Brunson now teammates pic.twitter.com/Y3f0Xqfz15
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) July 15, 2024
Whatever Payne said is seemingly too rude to repeat. While they joked about it on the podcast, the veteran felt it had caused animosity between him and Brunson and he wanted to talk it out when he joined the team in the offseason. However, it wasn’t as big a deal as he assumed. In an interview with the New York Post, Payne said,
“First thing I did was talk to JB when I got here and he’s like, ‘It’s all love.’ So it’s all love.”
Even if Jalen Brunson did hold a grudge with Payne’s fighting words, he knew better than to hold on to it. He knew the veteran said it in the heat of the moment and would do it to anyone. The superstar told the New York Post,
“I remember [the skirmish with Payne and his words]. Very vividly. But that’s one of those players you hate to play against but love to have on your team.”
The brief altercation had the potential to cause some distress between Payne and Brunson, but the duo had to foresight to nip it in the bud as soon as they teamed up.
