As a basketball player development specialist, Brandon Payne is renowned for his self-curated training methods that are responsible for the success of some of the game's most elite athletes. Most notably, 4x NBA champion, 2x NBA MVP (the only unanimous MVP in NBA history), 1X Finals MVP, and 9x NBA All-Star Stephen Curry sits atop the extensive roster of impressive clientele. Curry, a twelve-year client of Payne's, said, "Every time I talk to him, he has a new idea. He has a new thought. He has a new plan of attack. He has something different that makes me think."

Since training his first client in 1996, Payne has developed and refined a unique, elaborate workout program combining strength, speed, agility, and skill work into one efficient session aimed at producing a more innovative and intelligent model of basketball player development. His success led to the founding of Accelerate Basketball Training, an elite basketball training center catering to all talent levels. For more than two decades, Payne has personally trained over 100 NBA, WNBA, and international athletes, with his work profiled in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CBSSports.com, Bleacher Report, NBA TV, and many others.

Payne, the son of a basketball coach, grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, with basketball at the center of his childhood. Early on, Payne knew he wasn't destined to be a professional basketball player but was determined to remain involved. The first taste of player development came in high school when Payne worked out a few younger athletes on Charlotte's AAU team. His next opportunity materialized as a college basketball coach for his alma mater, Wingate University, from 2000-2002. This experience led Payne to a pivotal realization - he possessed more of a knack for developing players than for coaching them. At this point, he began blending strength and conditioning with basketball skills into an efficient workout, creating more room for all other responsibilities a student-athlete has during the day (schoolwork, nutrition, weight room, studying film, etc..).

Since he began working out his first NBA players in 2011, Payne's goal has remained the same - to make a more efficient and effective basketball player with an accelerated learning model. After mastering an in-depth understanding of all functions/movements of the body and creating drills that refined those, he began incorporating technology into his workouts to train decision-making, athlete recovery, and neuromuscular efficiency, always using the most recent technology (currently VR experience and percussion therapy).

Before working with a new player, Payne goes through an extensive onboarding process, a deep dive, and an assessment of the player's skills, areas of improvement, personality, and work ethic. From there, Payne works meticulously to create a custom roadmap design for player improvement, dissecting their movement characteristics (ensuring they are operating joint by joint with integrity) and identifying necessary adjustments for skill acquisition.

Payne's expertise and methods have integrated into different avenues of basketball, including The Underrated Tour, Accelerate Basketball, youth training camps, and more. He also works closely with Under Armour's sports science team, contributing insight to create a more effective product design process. With Payne's passion focused solely on basketball skill training, he continues to work with a select handful of players and strategically partners with experts in relevant fields, such as nutritionists and physical therapists, to ensure each client receives a well-rounded experience. Every day for Payne is a challenge to improve as a trainer and obtain new information to expand his offerings to players.