ORLANDO, Fla. (Court TV) — Lawrence Dority was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the second-degree murder of former NBA player Adreian Payne.

Lawrence Dority turns toward the gallery ahead of his sentencing on Aug. 29, 2025. (Court TV)

Judge Greg Tynan imposed the life sentence with a 25-year mandatory minimum following an emotional hearing that featured tearful pleas from both families affected by the May 9, 2022, shooting outside Dority’s Orlando townhome.

Payne, a 6-foot-10 former Michigan State star who played for the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks, was shot and killed in the early morning hours after what prosecutors said was an escalating dispute. Dority claimed self-defense , saying Payne threatened him with the words “I’ll smoke you, bruh” and that he believed Payne

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