2025-26 Season

BRANDEN CARLSON

Oklahoma City Thunder | Center | 7-0

2025-26 Season

BRANDEN CARLSON

Oklahoma City Thunder | Center | 7-0 | Yr 1

4.6 PPG

2.6 RPG

0.6 APG

10.3 MPG

+0.8 Impact

Carlson produces at an average rate for a 10-minute workload.

NET IMPACT BREAKDOWN

Every stat, every credit, every cost — per game average

+0.8

Scoring +2.9

Points 4.6 PPG × +1.00 = +4.6

Missed 2PT 0.7/g × -0.78 = -0.5

Missed 3PT 1.1/g × -0.87 = -1.0

Missed FT 0.2/g × -1.00 = -0.2

Creation +1.1

Assists 0.6/g × +0.50 = +0.3

Off. Rebounds 0.6/g × +1.26 = +0.8

Turnovers -0.8

Turnovers 0.4/g × -1.95 = -0.8

Defense -0.3

Steals 0.2/g × +2.30 = +0.5

Blocks 0.5/g × +0.90 = +0.5

Def. Rebounds 1.9/g × +0.30 = +0.6

Fouls Committed 2.5/g × -0.75 = -1.9

Hustle & Effort +1.4

Contested Shots 4.1/g × +0.20 = +0.8

Deflections 0.4/g × +0.65 = +0.3

Loose Balls 0.1/g × +0.60 = +0.1

Screen Assists 0.6/g × +0.30 = +0.2

Raw Impact +4.3

Baseline (game-average expected) −3.5

Net Impact

+0.8

18th pctl vs Centers

About this model: Net Impact can't measure floor spacing, help defense rotations, or playmaking gravity — so wings and guards are slightly undervalued vs bigs. How Net Impact works

TEAM COMPARISON

Impact

#10

Offense

#13

Hustle

#10

Defense

of 16 teammates (10+ games, 10+ min)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +14.3 Chet Holmgren +7.8 Isaiah Hartenstein +6.1 Jalen Williams +3.2 Ajay Mitchell +2.6 Alex Caruso +2.0 Jaylin Williams +1.3 Branden Carlson +1.3 Kenrich Williams +1.2 Cason Wallace +1.1 Isaiah Joe +1.0 Jared McCain +0.4 Aaron Wiggins -1.2 Ousmane Dieng -1.8 Luguentz Dort -3.5 Brooks Barnhizer -3.8

SKILL DNA

Percentile rank vs 92 Centers with 10+ games

Scoring 31th

6.2 PPG

Efficiency 35th

57.0% TS

Playmaking 15th

0.7 APG

Rebounding 11th

3.5 RPG

Rim Protection 68th

0.21/min

Hustle 30th

0.11/min

Shot Creation 50th

0% pullup

TO Discipline 84th

0.04/min

THE SEASON SO FAR

Branden Carlson’s opening stretch of the season was a chaotic tightrope walk between sporadic offensive utility and glaring defensive lapses. When he finally earned extended run on 11/02 vs NOP, he poured in an efficient 11 points. Yet, he still posted a dismal -3.7 impact score because his easy interior finishes were entirely negated by his struggles to anchor the glass and protect the rim. Conversely, he found ways to actively help his team without scoring a single point on 11/12 vs LAL. Despite an ugly 0-for-4 shooting night, Carlson leveraged impeccable verticality at the rim to deter slashers, earning a +0.8 impact mark driven by his stellar defensive effort. He lacked that same discipline on 11/05 vs POR. Rushed offensive execution and blown layups completely tanked his value, resulting in a disastrous -9.8 impact score in just eight minutes. He remains a highly volatile, matchup-dependent big who bleeds value whenever his focus wanes.

IMPACT TIMELINE

Game-by-game performance vs average. Green = above average, red = below.

Best Game

15 PTS vs GSW

Jan 03 | +10.7 impact

Worst Game

3 PTS vs CHA

Jan 06 | -7.0 impact

PATTERNS

Boom-or-bust player. Carlson's impact swings wildly relative to his average — some nights dominant, others invisible. Scoring varies by ~4 points per game.

Reliable shooter — hits 45%+ from the field in 75% of games. You can count on efficient nights more often than not.

Good defender on his best nights, but it comes and goes. Some games Carlson locks in defensively, others he gets picked apart.

Flat trajectory all season — first-half impact +1.1, second-half +0.4. No major shifts, which fits with the overall steadiness.

Tends to go on runs. Longest hot streak: 7 games. Longest cold streak: 4 games.

MATCHUP HISTORY

Based on 43 games with tracking data. Shows who guarded this player on offense and who he guarded on defense, with their shooting stats in those matchups.