Inside The Spurs

Spurs Rookie Malaki Branham: Steal of NBA Draft?

Branham was the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Jeremy Brener

Spurs Rookie Malaki Branham: Steal of NBA Draft?
Spurs Rookie Malaki Branham: Steal of NBA Draft? /

The San Antonio Spurs pulled off a rare feat in the NBA Draft this year, selecting three first-round picks. The Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder were the only teams to walk away with a trio of rookies in the first round.

With their own pick, the team selected Jeremy Sochan from Baylor. With the team's draft pick it acquired from the Boston Celtics in the Derrick White trade, the Spurs selected Blake Wesley from Notre Dame. But with that middle pick (acquired for Thaddeus Young from the Toronto Raptors), the team selected Malaki Branham, a freshman from Ohio State.

Branham, a 6-5 guard who averaged 13.7 points per game while shooting over 41 percent from three, was named among Bleacher Report's biggest steals of the draft.

"Though not an explosive athlete, he compensates with shot-making versatility and a knack for knowing how to separate using timing and patience over speed or athleticism," Bleacher Report writes. "Abrupt pull-ups, post fallaways, catch-and-shoot threes and hesitation drives off ball screens were behind Branham's production at Ohio State. And his sharp, three-level scoring skills were on full display in summer league, where he averaged 15.4 points and shot 42.3 percent from deep."

Branham is also in an ideal situation to see minutes given the fact that the Spurs are rebuilding.

"Devin Vassell figures to play minutes at the 3, while Josh Primo could steal point guard minutes," Bleacher Report says. "Branham, who'll play his entire rookie season at 19 years old, should have an ideal opportunity to play big minutes and through mistakes with a Spurs team that's now in full rebuild mode."

Branham and the Spurs are set to begin training camp next month.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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