Recently linked to the Knicks, a sweet-shooting rising freshman who’s a sneakily great pick-and-roll ball handler could be a very real option with the 11th pick.

Position: Guard, Ohio State

Age: 18

Height: 6 ft 5 in

Wingspan: 6 ft 11 in

Weight: 185 pounds

The Sales Pitch: Malaki Branham’s rise to a one-and-done potential lottery pick has been remarkable. He was a 5-star prospect, but closer to the 25-50 range out of high school. However, as the season went along, he showed terrific shotmaking ability from three levels. One of the youngest players in the draft, Branham’s on-ball load increased as the season progressed for an OSU team that lacked creation outside Branham and his teammate — and fellow potential lottery pick — EJ Liddell. Branham was efficient at three levels, showing the ability to attack the rim, hit tough shots in the midrange, and high efficiency from 3-point range. His shooting numbers are elite, and he looks the part of a high-level shooter in the NBA. Particularly impressive was his craft navigating screens on offense, as well as his strength. Despite still only being 185 lbs., there were many times were defenders would simply bounce off of him on his drives, and he has the frame to likely add 15-20 lbs. more. He was particularly effective in pick-and-roll, particularly getting to his spots in the paint but also as a passer, so he is well-prepared for the modern NBA — especially since bigs can’t drop back on him (middy too good) or play far off him (he’s a good finisher). Lastly, while he didn’t show much on defense in college, he has solid athleticism and his wingspan is a good harbinger for his potential on that end. He is one of the youngest prospects in the draft, having just turned 19 in May, so this is all probably the tip of the iceberg for him.   

Elite Traits/Skills: Length for the 2-guard position, pick-and-roll efficiency, general efficiency/shot selection

The Devil’s Advocate Argument: Branham is a solid athlete but doesn’t wow with his first step. He relied quite a bit on difficult shotmaking in the midrange, and while his length, release, and touch provides optimism that he can carry this over to the NBA, it can be difficult to produce efficiently without the burst to create a ton of space or blow by guys to the rim. Can Branham beat defenders and create space without a screen? Can he create advantages consistently against NBA defenders and get himself easy buckets? If he is mostly an off-ball player/secondary creator who doesn’t add a ton of value on defense, the ceiling is less exciting.  

The Misconceptions: One is that Branham is mainly an isolation player/scorer. Branham had astonishingly few isolation possessions in college (16 all season), doing most of his damage as a creator in pick-and-roll. In addition, while his assist numbers are somewhat pedestrian, his passing really pops on tape. Out of the post, he anticipates the double before it gets there and makes quick decisions. Out of pick-and-roll, he can hit the opposite corner as well as the roll man, and even showed flashes of manipulating the defense. He may not have showy assist numbers, but he is a gifted passer.

Important Numbers: 

• 50/42/83: Branham’s FG/3P/FT percentages. Elite numbers.

• 6.9: (Nice). Branham’s pick-and-roll possessions per 36 minutes. For comparison, Johnny Davis was at 8.0, Bennedict Mathurin was at 6.1, Jaden Ivey was at 8.4, and Jalen Williams was at 11.0.  

• 94: Branham’s Synergy percentile on pick-and-roll possessions.  Elite production.  

• 24/14: Branham’s usage and assist rate. From this terrific piece by Ben Rubin at the Stepien, 22 and 12 are a good threshold to identify potentially interesting freshmen 

• 1.5 and 1.0: Branham’s steal and block rates. Considering his length and tools, these are rather pedestrian.  

• 0.277: Branham’s free throw rate. This is respectable for a guard, and it should be noted that it skyrocketed during the second half of the season, when Branham’s on-ball responsibilities increased. The fact that Ohio State trusted him even more during the brutal Big Ten slate, when many freshman struggle to deal with the higher level of competition and physical grind, says a lot.  

Knicks Fit: In my opinion, the two biggest needs the Knicks have are true three-level scorers and versatile wings. Malaki Branham gives the Knicks a little of both. At 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, he can play the 2 or 3 and allow them to switch without giving up too much on defense. On offense, he can score efficiently from all over the place. He also fits in with some of the energy and ball movement we saw from the Knicks’ youth with his passing vision and ability to make quick decisions. He’s a pretty seamless fit. However, given the lack of outlier athleticism or high-level burst, it’s fair to wonder if that three-level scoring will fully translate, and the lack of impact on defense and volume 3-point shooting are fair to be concerned about as well. There may be higher upside guys, either from a 3-and-D perspective or from the on-ball scoring perspective, so it’s fair to wonder if it’s better to pick someone who projects very cleanly to offer one of those two packages rather than someone who gives you some of both.

However, Branham’s polish as a ball handler, passer, and scorer at that size and age bodes really well, and again, while he may not be an impact defender, he doesn’t project to be a liability.