What Went Right: Elfrid Payton

Undoubtedly the brightest spot for the Orlando Magic this season was the promise and emergence of rookie point guard Elfrid Payton.

Everything about Draft night last June was a surprise.

With the fourth pick in the NBA Draft, the Magic did not select Dante Exum. They took the raw rookie Aaron Gordon. Boos rained down and everyone wondered where the Magic would get their point guard.

Then the Sixers took Elfrid Payton. He was to be this year’s Mr. Can’t Quite Fit the Hat Over His Hair player of the year after Lucas Nogueira made that distinction work for him the previous season.

When Aaron Gordon was informed Elfrid Payton was going to be his teammate, you could sense the excitement in his voice over the phone. Having played with the unheralded point guard from Louisiana-Lafayette at the U19 World Championship, Gordon knew exactly what the Magic were getting.

Magic fans did not. But they would learn.

They would learn to the tune of 8.9 points and 6.5 assists per game. They would learn to the tune of back-to-back triple doubles, the first Magic player to do that. They would learn in a player falling a dozen assists short of surpassing Anfernee Hardaway‘s franchise rookie assist record.

Even for a guy who could not shoot — 42.5 percent on the year and 35.3 percent on jump shots, according to Basketball-Reference — Payton impacted games. Defenders laid off him, daring him to shoot and he took that space and found a way to make the defense collapse and free up teammates.

Payton is the kind of point guard that makes everyone better. Even if he cannot necessarily score on his own. Throughout the year, he proved adept at finding lanes, putting passes right on the dime and even working in a little push-shot floater into his game to increase his scoring.

The Magic had a team-high 101.6 offensive rating when Payton was on the floor. All this from a guy who supposedly cannot shoot!

The fact Payton took over the team so quickly into his career was the most surprising part. But it became clear even early in the season that Payton needed to be starting and that he was ready to be a point guard in the league, even with his experience level.

It is for this reason that Payton was undoubtedly one of the positives from the 2015 season. Maybe the biggest positive this season.

The thing about Payton though, is he would probably be the first to recognize his season was far from perfect. He knows for him and his team to get where it needs to go, he has to improve his shooting.

“We’ll be able to get into the paint better if I can shoot the ball better,” Payton said. “It will open up even more things for me and even my teammates. I think every year you want to try to add something to your game. That could be one of those things.”

The Magic will get a good check on his progress for Summer League in July.

Looking back though, Payton was always focused on what he could to make his team better. He recorded his first triple double in a loss, and so it meant very little to him. You would hardly notice he had recorded a triple double. The always calm rookie deflected all the glory to his teammates.

Isn’t that what you want out of a point guard?

More importantly, Payton and guard Victor Oladipo looked to establish themselves as a potential backcourt to build around. Even though they now have a total of three seasons combined, they developed good chemistry.

In 1,680 minutes played together, Oladipo and Payton posted a 102.7 offensive rating. Their linueps struggled defensively with a 106.4 defensive rating — credit some of that at least to them playing against a team’s top defensive lineup and playing a lot with Nikola Vucevic (1,343 of those minutes were spent with Vucevic on the floor with a 106.9 defensive rating), not a well-known defender. The unit’s 17.1 percent assist rate was relatively gaudy for the Magic this season.

The two had a good chemistry and look to be the future backcourt for this team. They impressed plenty around the league as they gained more and more notice. And they impressed their teammates.

“I think their toughness is one of the things that stands out to me,” Willie Green said about the back court. “Both of those guys fight through adversity. They go out every game and take on the challenge. I think shooting is something they will get better at. Being able to space the floor a little bit. I’m proud of those guys. They had a hell of a season individually. I look forward to seeing Elfrid and Vic grow together. That is going to be exciting.”

The fact that Elfrid Payton was added to the equation to bring that excitement is what is keeping things so optimistic this summer. It was not a season to feel too great about much. Elfrid Payton is one.

Payton has to work on his shooting. He knows that. But he has all the other skills you want from a point guard. He is an opportunistic and tenacious defender already. He is smart with the basketball, moving the ball and putting teammates in a position to score. He slowly found an ability to seek out his own shot too, craftily creating space so he did not have to take a jumper.

If anything went right in this season, it is the hope that comes from having the point guard position established for most of the next decade in Payton.

Payton probably is not ready to say that. One year does not make a career.

Then again, Payton probably is not willing to say he had a great rookie year. He saw that win-loss record too. And he is incredibly humble and modest about his accomplishments.

What makes Payton even better is that he knows he still has work to do.

“Definitely gained some confidence knowing that I can do it,” Payton said. “Now it’s about becoming one of the best and one of the top guards. That’s definitely my focus this summer.”

Next: Aaron Gordon ended his season gaining confidence and trust