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Malaki Branham Selected by San Antonio Spurs With No. 20 Pick in 2022 NBA Draft

After just one season of college basketball, Malaki Branham is a first-round NBA draft pick.

The 19-year-old former Ohio State guard heard his name called on stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, as the San Antonio Spurs selected him with the 20th overall pick. Branham can now stake his claim as the first Ohio State player to be selected in the first round since D’Angelo Russell in 2015.

"He's got a high ceiling as a player. He's just tapping into what he can be, and I think that's what people see at 19 from Malaki," Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann told 97.