Former Ohio State guard Malaki Branham is about to start his fourth NBA season, but he will be with a new team.
According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, Branham was involved in a trade on Tuesday evening, moving from the San Antonio Spurs to the Washington Wizards. The rest of the trade includes the Wizards sending power forward Kelly Olynyk to the Spurs in exchange for Branham, guard Blake Wesley and a 2026 second-round pick.
This will be the second team Branham has played for in his brief NBA career. The former Buckeye star was picked in the first round, No. 20 overall, by San Antonio in the 2022 NBA Draft.
DONATE TO 'THE FOUNDATION': Click here now to assist with Name, Image and Likeness compensation for Ohio State football and basketball student-athletes.
Ohio State won the national championship game in the first 12-team College Football Playoff, beating Notre Dame for the crown! The 2025 spring practice concluded with the spring game and the transfer portal is closed. The basketball season has concluded. It's officially offseason time for Ohio State. Stay on top of the latest Buckeye news by BECOMING A BUCKNUTS SUBSCRIBER today!
In three seasons with the Spurs, Branham appeared in 188 games, starting 61 and averaging 19 minutes per contest. He averaged 8.5 points, 1.7 assists and two rebounds per game. Branham's best season was during his rookie year when he started a career-high 32 of the 66 games he played, averaging 10.2 points on 44 percent shooting from the field and 30.2 percent from three-point range.
Branham's stats have declined over his two seasons since his rookie year. In 2023-24, Branham averaged 9.2 points, 2.1 assists and two rebounds per game in 75 games, with 29 starts. Last season, he played only 47 games, with no starts, and averaged five points, 0.8 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game.
A Columbus, Ohio, native who moved to Akron to play at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, Branham led the Irish to a state championship his senior season. He left high school as a four-star prospect, the top-ranked player in the state and a top-40 prospect in the country in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Branham was also named Mr. Ohio Basketball in 2021.
Branham began the 2021-22 season coming off the bench for the Scarlet and Gray, but head coach Chris Holtmann put him in the starting lineup before the second game and never looked back. Although it took time for Branham to fully adjust to college basketball, once he did, opposing teams faced serious problems.
The freshman announced himself to the college basketball world in early January with a career-high 35 points in an overtime win at Nebraska. This happened after a 22-day pause for the team due to a COVID-19 outbreak, and Branham, who never tested positive, carried the team that night.
Branham then established himself as Ohio State's second-leading scorer behind junior forward EJ Liddell, scoring in double figures in 17 of the Buckeyes' 20 remaining games that year. Branham was crucial in an overtime victory against Indiana, scoring 27 points, and in a road upset of Illinois with 31 points. He then scored 23 points in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which ended in a loss to Villanova.
Follow Patrick Murphy on Twitter and Instagram for more Ohio State coverage
What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now!
In his only season with the Scarlet and Gray, Branham ranked second on Ohio State in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game on 49 percent shooting. He was named the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, named to the conference's All-Freshman Team and earned third-team All-Big Ten honors.