The journey of former Ohio State guard Malaki Branham was an interesting one last season. The freshman started the year slowly as he learned to deal with the different competitive level in college. In fact, in December, if you would have told anyone that Branham would be a first-round selection as a one-and-done, nobody would have believed it.
A funny thing happened though once the new year hit. Branham dropped 35 points in a win on the road vs. Nebraska to let everyone know that he was for real. Scoring in double figures then ended up being a consistent thing for a freshman that was beginning to show the world that he was a three-level scorer from multiple spots on the floor.
He began to rise up the draft boards and that’s when everyone realized that Branham’s freshman season at Ohio State would be his only one. The dream of being drafted in the NBA became reality on Thursday night.
In case you missed it, get a look at the moment Branham likely had to pinch himself as the No. 20 overall in the NBA draft, when the San Antonio Spurs felt they got a steal.
It’ll sure be fun to see what Branham does with his opportunity and how quickly he can acclimate himself to the top basketball league in the world. He’s got the skill set, so he just has to find things like he did at Ohio State.
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