Malaki Lamar Branham, an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, was born on May 12, 2003. Branham had a unanimous four-star rating and was considered the best player in Ohio. Branham made a commitment to play collegiate basketball for Ohio State on July 22, 2020. Branham started his collegiate career as a backup but rapidly moved up to the starting lineup. After a COVID break of about a month, he scored a career-high 35 points in an 87-79 overtime victory over Nebraska. He scored 22, 27, and 31 points over a three-game span in February. He had a 13.7 point, 3.6 rebound, and two assist per game average as a rookie.

Branham was selected for the Third Team All-Big Ten as well as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Branham declared for the 2022 NBA draught on April 1, 2022, keeping his eligibility for college. Later on, giving up his remaining eligibility, he joined with an agency.