Columbus native Malaki Branham has a new NBA team 3 years after the San Antonio Spurs drafted him in the first round out of Ohio State.
Malaki Branham has a new NBA home.
Branham moved from his hometown of Columbus to Akron, so he could attend St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and play for Dru Joyce II, who won the first of his seven state championships as a head coach in 2003 while guiding a famous Fighting Irish team headlined by LeBron James.
Then Branham returned to Columbus and starred at Ohio State for one season before the San Antonio Spurs drafted him in the first round (No. 20 overall) in 2022.
Now Branham will be moving from the Spurs to the Washington Wizards.
The Wizards agreed to trade Kelly Olynyk to the Spurs for Branham, Blake Wesley and a 2026 second-round draft pick, ESPN reported July 8.
Malaki Branham stats
Branham started 61 of the 188 regular-season games in which he appeared during three seasons with the Spurs. He averaged 8.5 points on 43.9% shooting from the field (33.6% on 3-pointers), 2 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
Branham averaged 10.2 points and 23.5 minutes as a rookie, but his scoring and playing time decreased in each of the next two seasons. The numbers dropped to 9.2 points and 21.3 minutes in 2023-24 and 5 points and 9.1 minutes in 2024-25.
Perhaps a change of scenery will give Branham an opportunity to reverse the trend.
Northeast Ohio has connection with Washington Wizards
With the Wizards, Branham will find a veteran guard from Northeast Ohio from whom he can learn. Canton native and GlenOak High School graduate CJ McCollum joined the Wizards last month in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Malaki Branham position
Branham played point guard and shooting guard for the Spurs.
Malaki Branham height
The Spurs listed Branham as 6 feet, 5 inches and 205 pounds.
Malaki Branham age
Branham is 22 years old.
How much does Malaki Branham make?
Branham has one season remaining on his four-year rookie contract worth $14.177 million, according to spotrac.com.
Malaki Branham at Ohio State
Branham started all but one of his 32 games at Ohio State, averaging 13.7 points on 49.8% shooting from the field along with 3.6 rebounds. He earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and became the eighth Buckeyes player to be named the conference’s Freshman of the Year.
Malaki Branham at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School
A 2021 St. Vincent-St. Mary graduate, Branham won two Division II state championships with the Fighting Irish. As a freshman, he contributed off the bench during a title run. As a senior, he led STVM to a state crown, averaging 21.3 points and capturing the Ohio Mr. Basketball Award.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [email protected]. On social media: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio State, Akron STVM product Malaki Branham in Spurs, Wizards trade
Category: General Sports
