The partnership arrives as professional basketball grapples with a steep rise in soft tissue damage. Data from May 2026 indicates that calf injuries reached 86 this season, a sharp increase from 18 during the 2010-11 campaign. By leveraging his experience as a high-level defender, Payton II plans to advocate for recovery alternatives that avoid the long-term consequences often associated with traditional pain treatments.

"Injury and pain are part of the game," said Payton II. "What you use to manage them doesn't have to come with consequences you'll spend the rest of your life dealing with." Valor President Darryl Drake Jr. noted that the guard’s active participation in the league provides a unique, firsthand perspective critical to the company's research into transdermal peptide delivery and biomechanical interventions. Beyond his work with Valor, Payton II continues to lead the GPII Foundation, which provides educational resources and dyslexia support for children.