Spurs Select G Malaki Branham with the 20th Pick in the 2022 NBA Draft

[Mr. Body]

He’s a old school scorer man, reminds me a lil of Michael redd

I've been saying Michael Redd for a while. Both OSU guys. Him and Rip Hamilton.

[offset formation]

Interesting is I looked up Branham on NbaDraftnet and his comp was: smaller Khris Middleton

Sometimes those comps are really silly but I can see a decent comparison in their games actually

[John B]

B-but he’s not a real PG. Who cares? The team got 32 assists. Who needs a real PG, they’re sharing. And oh Branham got a new career high 26 pts.

[heyheymymy]

man 26 pts that is incredible!

Now Branham is the fascination to tune in for on these games

[heyheymymy]

Branham has bested is career high in points twice just this week alone

[The Truth #6]

With Tre and Jeremy out, this is his golden opportunity. So far so good.

[J_Paco]

I'm happy to see he's gotten over his early season struggles and has found a groove. Sometimes it takes guards with more "skill" than athleticism time to adjust to the better athletes in the NBA.

If Wesley can find his groove (and confidence) too, then this is easily the Spurs best draft class in years, IMO.

[John B]

I'm happy to see he's gotten over his early season struggles and has found a groove. Sometimes it takes guards with more "skill" than athleticism time to adjust to the better athletes in the NBA.

If Wesley can find his groove (and confidence) too, then this is easily the Spurs best draft class in years, IMO.

One by one they are starting to shine. Each one getting the chance as if by design. The lost of a PG threw Sochan in the fire and he slowly got his groove especially when he switched to a one-hand FT which unlocked his offensive skills and increased his confidence. Likewise, the injury in Tre again found Malaki starting and expected to be a goto guy next to Keldon. He answered with a consecutive 22 pts, 26 pts career highs. Likewise Blake promoted into backup PG getting more minutes and at times showing glimpses of his NBA skills and athleticism, something to be excited about. No expectations to win, but learning every game, developing without the pressure of winning vs being a rookie in the championship years. Pop and his coaching staff should really be commended for developing these kids, truly excellent job teaching.

[Atl Spur]

B-but he’s not a real PG. Who cares? The team got 32 assists. Who needs a real PG, they’re sharing. And oh Branham got a new career high 26 pts.

Those out there getting caught up on position les don’t know basketball…… position less is a term for a reason Remember, this is just year 1 for Branham…… hasn’t scratched the surface comes to mind. Exciting times

[heyheymymy]

I'm getting on this hype train

Bran is going to be real solid and can't wait to watch him develop

[BatManu20]

[lefty20]

[wildbill2u]

Need to bring a Branham thread forward since he is being mentioned a lot of times in other threads. Some folks seem to be absolutely enthralled by his recent improved performances in scoring totals--but of course part of that is because he is getting a lot of minutes because of injuries and therefore has more opportunities. Nevertheless, it can't be denied that he is showing that he can score.

Branham doesn't have a very good average on his 3pt. shot (.315) but Jones is significantly worse and hasn't improved much since coming into the league. One problem with Branham's shooting is that he has a very unorthodox release, especially when shooting at distance. He tries to release the shot from approximately his lap area. Never seen this before except in players who use it to get additional strength and distance on a longer shot. Pee Wee league stuff. And he is getting those 3 pt shots blocked at that level at an unusual rate in the NBA.

That being said, he's doing OK as the PG subs ution for Jones in regard to handling ball while bringing up court. He isn't as good as Jones on defense although he is several inches taller. Surprisingly, Jones is a better rebounder so far.



Granted he is a rookie and needs more developmental work, I don't think he is a special draft pick at this point. In fact, I'd suggest that in comparison to another recent rookie, Josh Primo, Primo actually might have showed more readiness for the NBA at the same stage of his game.

I don't think he was a bad pick, but let's not get over our skis yet.

[exstatic]

Need to bring a Branham thread forward since he is being mentioned a lot of times in other threads. Some folks seem to be absolutely enthralled by his recent improved performances in scoring totals--but of course part of that is because he is getting a lot of minutes because of injuries and therefore has more opportunities. Nevertheless, it can't be denied that he is showing that he can score.

Branham doesn't have a very good average on his 3pt. shot (.315) but Jones is significantly worse and hasn't improved much since coming into the league. One problem with Branham's shooting is that he has a very unorthodox release, especially when shooting at distance. He tries to release the shot from approximately his lap area. Never seen this before except in players who use it to get additional strength and distance on a longer shot. Pee Wee league stuff. And he is getting those 3 pt shots blocked at that level at an unusual rate in the NBA.

That being said, he's doing OK as the PG subs ution for Jones in regard to handling ball while bringing up court. He isn't as good as Jones on defense although he is several inches taller. Surprisingly, Jones is a better rebounder so far.



Granted he is a rookie and needs more developmental work, I don't think he is a special draft pick at this point. In fact, I'd suggest that in comparison to another recent rookie, Josh Primo, Primo actually might have showed more readiness for the NBA at the same stage of his game.

I don't think he was a bad pick, but let's not get over our skis yet.

He’s showing an awful lot for a rookie. I’m not worried about his 3 point shooting yet. Devin, who was also a 40+% shooter in the NCAA, didn’t hit 40% until this year, his 3rd. As recently as December, Malaki was shooting 18%. The fact that he’s now shooting 31% shows that he’s been railing it. He’s a bucket already, most nights.

[Dejounte]

More players need to keep bringing back the mid range game. That’s what I love about Malaki. Basketball is most fun in the mid range.

[spurraider21]

im more worried about his release than the shooting % at this point

[John B]

He’l be fine. He has a cunning way of scoring. I’m sure he will adjust come the off-season. The kid is 19. He’s still adjusting

[rankingtear]

im more worried about his release than the shooting % at this point

Yeah he needs to watch some Haliburton tape on how to self create when you have an unorthodox set shot from three.

[XDT76]

Need to bring a Branham thread forward since he is being mentioned a lot of times in other threads. Some folks seem to be absolutely enthralled by his recent improved performances in scoring totals--but of course part of that is because he is getting a lot of minutes because of injuries and therefore has more opportunities. Nevertheless, it can't be denied that he is showing that he can score.

Branham doesn't have a very good average on his 3pt. shot (.315) but Jones is significantly worse and hasn't improved much since coming into the league. One problem with Branham's shooting is that he has a very unorthodox release, especially when shooting at distance. He tries to release the shot from approximately his lap area. Never seen this before except in players who use it to get additional strength and distance on a longer shot. Pee Wee league stuff. And he is getting those 3 pt shots blocked at that level at an unusual rate in the NBA.

That being said, he's doing OK as the PG subs ution for Jones in regard to handling ball while bringing up court. He isn't as good as Jones on defense although he is several inches taller. Surprisingly, Jones is a better rebounder so far.



Granted he is a rookie and needs more developmental work, I don't think he is a special draft pick at this point. In fact, I'd suggest that in comparison to another recent rookie, Josh Primo, Primo actually might have showed more readiness for the NBA at the same stage of his game.

I don't think he was a bad pick, but let's not get over our skis yet.

Not sure what do you mean by Primo showed more readiness, in his second year he averaged about 19.5mins and his FG% 3FG% AST, AST/TO and scoring are worse off than a rookie playing are 22.5mins. he might not be a great pick, but he is definitely better than a few picks we drafted in the last 5 years at 12, 18 and 19.

[KingKev]

Walker Kessler ROTM

[CGD]

im more worried about his release than the shooting % at this point

I agree with this. His shot reminds my of Leandro Barbosa’s shot from back in the day. It’s really low and out, and I’m surprised he doesn’t get blocked more. That said, what do i know, he’s scoring a lot.

[scott]

Walker Kessler ROTM

Being on a team that went 1-10 probably didn't help Bran

[dbestpro]

The kid is going to be a star on the next Spurs team that is in the playoffs