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NBA Draft stock appears to be rising for Ohio State’s Malaki Branham

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Former Ohio State guard Malaki Branham has been one of the rising stars in the NBA Draft process. Since the middle of the college basketball season, the freshman sensation has only seen his stock improve.

This week, Branham was invited to the 2022 NBA Draft Combine in an effort to improve his stock even further. He appears to be accomplishing that task.

Matt Babcock of Basketball News suggests that Branham has been the talk of the week in Chicago.

“I’m not sure there has been a name buzzing in Chicago this week more than Malaki Branham,” Babcock tweeted. “At this point, I think there is a strong possibility that he will go in the lottery.”

Earlier this week, 247Sports had Branham pegged as the No. 14 selection in the NBA Draft, the final pick of the lottery.

In his lone season at Ohio State, Branham averaged 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He shot 49.8% from the floor, 41.6% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free throw line.

Branham was named the B1G Freshman of the Year after a sensational rookie campaign. After such a strong year, he entered his name into the NBA Draft and will not return to Ohio State.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB