Confidence Growing for Spurs Guard Malaki Branham

Malaki Branham has bounced back over his last five games for the San Antonio Spurs.

The 2023 draft class was deadlined by Victor Wembanyama, and the San Antonio Spurs' 2022 draft saw the addition of Jeremy Sochan. Lost in the mix has been second-year player Malaki Branham, who has been playing very well as of late.

Averaging 8.5 points, 2.2 assists, and shooting 43.2 percent from the field marks a slight decline from his rookie campaign last year, and his highs and lows this season have painted differing pictures about his future in the Silver and Black. 

Mar 3, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Malaki Branham (22) points in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Frost Bank Center / © Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

However, with an increased role recently, he's been showing that he can be a high-impact player off the bench. 

On January 19th and 20th, Branham had two rough outings where he only saw the court for a combined 11 minutes. He sat on the bench for four of the next five games and has slowly been reintroduced into the fold since.

Over the last five games, however, he has looked like an entirely different player and has given coach Gregg Popovich reason to trust him with the ball.

Before the Spurs' win over the Indiana Pacers, Popovich shed some light on what he expects from Branham moving forward.

“He’s gotten more confident in not hesitating to shoot," said Pop. "He’s been open in the past, he’ll hesitate, you know he’s trying to work the offense, he’s trying to hit the open man, so on and so forth, but we want to establish himself as a shooter and let it fly when he has the opportunity.”

Branham got the starting nod in the absence of Julian Champagnie, making his first start since early January. He made the most of it, scoring an efficient 18 points and dishing out six assists. 

Apparently, the newfound confidence is working wonders for him. Perhaps most impressively, he only recorded a single turnover. 

After the game, Branham heard his praises sung by everyone in the organization. One time he missed a shot and the next time out Pop went to him and told him something," said Victor Wembanyama. "I don't know what [was said] but it worked. I don't think he ever missed again."

Branham did go oh-for-one in the final quarter, so Wembanyama is misremembering, but the trust in his shooting ability from the Spurs' best player is readily apparent. After the game, Popovich continued to shower praise on Branham.

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“He’s come into games ready to shoot, being more physical on defense, doing the things we’re asking,” said Pop.

Branham is not the player who should be in charge of running the offense, but he is a solid secondary ball-handler with great court vision for a second-year player. His shooting averages are nothing to write home about, but if he can continue to create space in the midrange, get himself to the rim, and knock down the occasional three-ball, he will have a solid role for the Spurs going forward.