Spurs Rookie Malaki Branham Snubbed for Rookie of the Month?

Malaki Branham averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in February. However, he didn't take home Rookie of the Month honors.

Jeremy Brener | Mar 3, 2023

Spurs Rookie Malaki Branham Snubbed for Rookie of the Month? /

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San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs rookie Malaki Branham is coming off the best month of his young career.

In 11 games played during February, the No. 20 overall pick out of Ohio State averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Branham was a strong candidate to be the Western Conference Rookie of the Month as the leading scorer amongst rookies, but the honor went to Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, who averaged a double-double with 10.6 points and 11.4 rebounds.

Kessler took home the honor for the first time after Oklahoma City Thunder wing Jalen Williams won in November and Sacramento Kings power forward Keegan Murray was honored the past two months.

Branham may not have been given the honor, but he is certainly keeping a receipt that he didn't on social media.

Fans replied to Branham's tweet with fans who felt he was "robbed," and it's possible that he was. It's hard to overlook Kessler's double-double average over the month, but Branham has taken a massive step forward as he's played in the starting lineup.

But given this "snub" for Branham, it appears that he'll use this disappointment as fuel to try and be March's Rookie of the Month.

Branham's Spurs return to the court tomorrow night against the Houston Rockets at 7:00 p.m.

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Published Mar 3, 2023

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.