# Branden Carlson

Branden Carlson (born June 14, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Utah Utes.

## Early life and high school career

Carlson grew up in South Jordan, Utah and attended Bingham High School. He committed to play college basketball at Utah over offers from UCLA, Stanford, BYU, UNLV, Utah State, UC Davis, Santa Clara, and Weber State.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Branden Carlson PF / C | South Jordan, UT | Bingham | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Oct 23, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 66 247Sports: 153 ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Utah Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024. "2017 Utah Utes Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024. ||||||

## College career

After serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Carlson enrolled at Utah before the start of the 2019–2020 season. Carlson played in 30 games with 29 starts during his freshman season and averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. He averaged 9.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks as a sophomore. Carlson averaged 13.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks and was named second-team All-Pac-12 Conference as a junior. He averaged 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game as a senior and was named first-team All-Pac-12. Carlson considered entering the 2023 NBA draft, but ultimately decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and return to Utah for a fifth season. In his final year, he averaged 17.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game, and made the First-team All-Pac-12 for the second time. Carlson became the all-time blocks leader for Utah during a home loss to Arizona State, eventually finishing the season with 241 blocks. In that year's NIT, Carlson averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over four tournament games, with Utah eventually falling in the semifinals to Indiana State.

## Professional career
### Raptors 905 (2024)

After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, Carlson signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors on July 4, 2024, joining former Ute Jakob Pöltl. However, he was waived on October 19, 2024. On October 28, he joined Raptors 905. Carlson played four preseason games with the Raptors, averaging 5.3 minutes per game. He recorded 1.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game.

### Oklahoma City Thunder / Blue (2024–2025)

On November 16, 2024, after the injuries of Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, and Jaylin Williams, Carlson signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Throughout his rookie season, he was assigned several times to the Oklahoma City Blue. On January 7, 2025, he was waived by the Thunder. Three days later, he signed a 10-day contract with the Thunder and on January 22, he signed another 10-day contract with them. On February 6, he signed a two-way contract with the Thunder.

## Career statistics
### NBA
#### Regular season

As of February 11, 2025.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2024–25 | Oklahoma City | 18 | 0 | 5.8 | .474 | .433 | 1.000 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.8 |
| Career | Career | 18 | 0 | 5.8 | .474 | .433 | 1.000 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.8 |

### College

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2019–20 | Utah | 30 | 29 | 20.9 | .549 | .231 | .622 | 3.9 | .8 | .3 | 1.4 | 7.0 |
| 2020–21 | Utah | 25 | 21 | 23.4 | .551 | .500 | .609 | 4.6 | .7 | .2 | 1.7 | 9.4 |
| 2021–22 | Utah | 24 | 23 | 26.0 | .510 | .309 | .818 | 6.0 | 1.1 | .3 | 1.6 | 13.6 |
| 2022–23 | Utah | 31 | 31 | 29.1 | .495 | .331 | .774 | 7.5 | 1.5 | .3 | 2.0 | 16.3 |
| 2023–24 | Utah | 36 | 36 | 29.6 | .501 | .379 | .714 | 6.6 | 1.6 | .4 | 1.5 | 17.0 |
| Career | Career | 146 | 140 | 26.1 | .513 | .354 | .728 | 5.8 | 1.2 | .3 | 1.7 | 12.9 |

## Personal life

Carlson is a member of the LDS Church. He served a two-year mission for the church in Manchester, England.
Carlson married Maddy Woolf in the summer of 2020. His father, Bryan Carlson, played basketball at Chico State, and his brother, Devin Carlson, plays forward for Salt Lake Community College's basketball team.