The selling point
Size that can play outside the paint
Draft Digest’s 2024 evaluation emphasized shooting and a situational pick-and-pop role. The film question now: does the opposing center follow him outside, and what opens behind that defender?
Players Branden Carlson
BrandenCarlson
#10 · Center· 7' 0"· 27 years
The jumper buys him a look. Staying on the floor is the test.
PORTRAIT / NBA CENTERLast completed season · 2025-26
42 games · OKCPoints / G5.8
Rebounds / G3.0
Assists / G0.7
Minutes / G11.7
Field goal52.7%
Three-point36.0%
2026-27 No verified regular-season sample yet. The numbers above describe 2025-26; preseason is separate below.
NBA game-log minutes are rounded; season averages may differ slightly from the league’s full-precision totals.
Recent official source check · No recorded 2026-27 regular-season appearance. Season totals include published final games.
01 / The film room
The game, in motion.
02 / The scouting file
Look closer.
The role. The questions. The person.
Reported player portrait · 2026-10-25
The jumper buys him a look. Staying on the floor is the test.
A shooting big with an unusually long runway to the NBA. The interesting argument is about how much more there is: Carlson sees more athleticism in his game than his draft reputation allowed, and Portland has already noticed his work on the offensive glass.
The story before the NBA ↓
The concern
Who can he guard when the matchup changes?
That draft report questioned defense in space, explosiveness and rebounding. Revisit those concerns against current possessions. A block total cannot settle whether a big contains a ball handler or recovers to a shooter.
What Portland noticed
There is another way to earn the shift
Conor Bergin reported that Micah Nori singled out Carlson’s energy on the offensive glass after Portland’s first training-camp practice. That gives the evaluation a useful second track: the shooting is the entry point, but extra possessions may matter to his coach too.
The disagreement
Carlson pushes back on the athleticism label
At his October 2026 media availability, Carlson described pick-and-pop shooting and some rim protection as familiar strengths, then argued that people underestimate his athleticism. Treat that disagreement as a reason to watch a wider sample than made jumpers and highlight dunks.
“I’m quite a bit more athletic than people give me credit for”
“But it’s the defensive end that we need to see more of.”
The statistical read
What changes when you look past points per game?
491 recorded minutes
League percentiles: 412 players with at least 20 games, 300 minutes and 100 field-goal attempts in 2025-26. Higher means more of the named statistic. Per-36 rates describe production in the recorded role; they do not project starter minutes.
Scoring volume17.7 PTS / 36
64th percentile
Points per 36 minutes
Assist production2.1 AST / 36
19th percentile
Assists per 36 minutes; does not measure every advantage created
Rebound production9.1 REB / 36
83rd percentile
Rebounds per 36 minutes; role and available rebounds matter
Three-point appetite46.2% of FGA
55th percentile
Percentage of field-goal attempts taken from three
Free-throw volume14.0 FTA / 100 FGA
18th percentile
Free-throw attempts per 100 field-goal attempts
Scoring efficiency61.3% TS
78th percentile
True shooting percentage, weighted by attempts
How to read this profile
Percentiles compare this season’s qualified NBA players across all positions. Rebounding reflects opportunity as well as skill; assists depend on touches and teammates; shot volume does not measure gravity. True shooting uses aggregate points and attempts, with a 0.44 free-throw multiplier. Per-36 rates use recorded minutes, which may be rounded in historical NBA game logs.
NBA source record ↗Rebound production
9.1 REB / 36 places Branden Carlson at the 83rd percentile among all qualified players, across positions. Look at who handles the box-out and which rebounds are contested before assigning the full credit.
Inspect the record ↓Scoring efficiency
61.3% true shooting places Branden Carlson at the 78th percentile among all qualified players, across positions. The next question is how much of that efficiency survives harder shots or a larger role.
Inspect the record ↓How much should you trust the jumper?
36.0% from three on 86 attempts. Fewer than 100 attempts leave plenty of room for the percentage to move. Watch the misses and the closeouts, too.
Inspect the record ↓Decisions under pressure
1.81 assists per turnover is a starting point. Rewatch possessions against traps and late-clock pressure; this ratio alone cannot tell you how difficult the passing job was.
Inspect the record ↓The value debate
What are you buying, and what still has to happen?
RTG’s interpretation of the linked reporting · 2026-10-25. Conditional paths, with the evidence attached.
The case for more
A specialist can be easy to miss
A reserve’s scoring average can obscure a specific lineup job. Carlson’s shooting makes him worth studying in that context. Calling him underrated still requires a defined role and price; this file does not measure league-wide opinion.
The case for caution
The shooting cannot answer every question
Shooting alone does not establish fit. Revisit the draft concerns: can his lineup finish defensive possessions and survive opponents attacking him in space? Efficient spot minutes do not establish readiness for tougher assignments.
A useful outcome
A dependable matchup option
A reserve who changes the offensive shape while holding up defensively is a plausible role to test. This is a conditional interpretation of the reporting, not a minutes forecast or ceiling grade.
What changes the evaluation
Prove the second position
Carlson told Utah’s Mark Harlan that he sought more time at power forward because NBA teams wanted to see him defend that position. Revisit that exact question on current film: can he handle the perimeter assignment beside another big, and can he finish the possession when playing center?
The roster around him
Who else occupies this part of the floor?
Current POR teammates with an overlapping listed position. Their 2025-26 records put the available skill sets side by side; these are individual season numbers, not lineup results.
| Player | Position | MIN / G | AST / G | 3P% | 3PA | REB / G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donovan Clingan ↗ | C | 27.2 | 2.1 | 34.1% | 246 | 11.6 |
| Micah Potter ↗ | C | 19.3 | 1.5 | 42.3% | 168 | 5.0 |
| Robert Williams III ↗ | C-F | 17.1 | 1.0 | 39.1% | 23 | 7.0 |
| Yang Hansen ↗ | C | 7.0 | 0.5 | 11.9% | 42 | 1.5 |
A comparison worth investigating
Similar box-score profiles.
2025-26 · Closest standardized profiles across the six measures above, with equal weight. Numerical resemblance says little about defensive assignments, shot difficulty or career ceiling.
Leonard Miller ↗18.0 PTS / 36 · 2.0 AST / 3637.8% of attempts from three
Bobby Portis Jr. ↗20.4 PTS / 36 · 2.3 AST / 3639.5% of attempts from three
Asa Newell ↗16.3 PTS / 36 · 1.9 AST / 3644.4% of attempts from three
The reporting desk · 5 sources +
Read the original reporting and interviews. Quotes retain their speaker and date; historical scouting opinions stay dated.
Practice reporting & player interview · 2026-10-02Training Camp Day 4: Get to Know New Blazer Branden Carlson ↗Blazer’s Edge · Conor BerginPre-draft evaluation · 2024-06-19NBA Draft Scouting Report: Utah’s Branden Carlson ↗Draft Digest / Sports Illustrated · Draft Digest StaffFirst-person interview · 2024-02-15Student-Athlete Q&A: Branden Carlson ↗University of Utah / Crimson Club · Mark Harlan interviewReported profile · 2023-03-07Branden Carlson reflects on his Runnin’ Utes career ↗Deseret News · Jay DrewCollege biography · 2023-24Branden Carlson: Utah player biography ↗University of Utah Athletics03 / The numbers
A season in motion.
2025-26 regular season · 42 games
Game by game
The shooting profile
Every point has a source.
2025-26 · Percentages and attempt volume.
61.3%True shooting
61.0%Effective FG
67.0%
Two-point100 attempts36.0%
Three-point86 attempts57.7%
Free throws26 attemptsShare of points242 total points
Two-pointers 55.4%Three-pointers 38.4%Free throws 6.2%
04 / The reading room
Beyond the stat line.
Read the Game
The next chapter is on the court.
Reviewed player analysis appears here as game reports are published.
Open the latest game ↗Every recorded appearance ↓Draft Digest / Sports Illustrated ·
NBA Draft Scouting Report: Utah’s Branden Carlson ↗
Draft Digest Staff
University of Utah Athletics ·
Branden Carlson: Utah player biography ↗
Away from the box score / Carlson
Before the name
on the jersey.
Family, detours and the details that make a career a life.
Before the seven-footer
A father’s team, then a late growth spurt
Jay Drew’s profile traces Carlson’s first organized basketball to second grade in Visalia, California, with his father Bryan coaching. Bryan had played at Chico State. The family moved to South Jordan when Branden was eight; years later, Carlson nearly missed Bingham’s sophomore team while still growing into his body.
2017–2019
Two years away from the usual basketball track
After Bingham High, Carlson served a two-year church mission in Manchester, England. Utah’s biography records that detour before his college career. It matters when reading his age beside his NBA experience: his path did not follow the standard high-school-to-college calendar.
The recruiting wrinkle
The BYU fan who chose Utah
Carlson told Harlan that BYU had been his dream school. Utah ultimately felt right, with family nearby and the chance to keep watching his younger brother’s high-school games part of the appeal.
The return to school
The decision had a life attached to it
In the same interview, Carlson explained that returning to Utah also kept him with his wife while she finished law school. Team fit, contract possibilities, family and another season of development all entered the decision.
The detail you would not get from the box score
A twin with a very different stage
Drew reported that Carlson’s twin brother Hayden pursued singing and music. The same story includes Branden’s memory of finally beating his father one-on-one at sixteen, followed by some sibling debate over whose victory was harder.
Away from the scouting board
Start with the Will Ferrell movies
Asked about favorite comedies in Portland, Carlson named Talladega Nights, Step Brothers and Get Hard, then added Click. The interview is worth hearing for his delivery as well as the basketball answers.
Reported background · Sources attached to each chapter · File reviewed 2026-10-25
05 / The long view
The career, chapter by chapter.
Points per game · Regular season · Team stints are shown separately where supplied.
| Season | Team | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | OKC | 42 | 11.7 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 52.7% | 36.0% | 57.7% |
| 2024-25 | OKC | 32 | 7.7 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 44.3% | 33.3% | 77.8% |
06 / Every appearance
The game log.
3 games
| Competition | Game | FG% | 3P% | FT% | Contribution | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13 | Preseason | POR vs SAC ↗ | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.3% | 0.0% | — | -0.5Box only · provisional |
| Oct 12 | Preseason | POR vs LON ↗ | 13.7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50.0% | 100.0% | — | -6.4Box only · provisional |
| Oct 7 | Preseason | POR vs GSW ↗ | 9.2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.0% | 0.0% | — | +2.2Box only · provisional |
No games match these filters.
Shooting percentages use recorded attempts; no attempts is unavailable. Game contribution is not player strength or points caused.
Individual performance breakdowns +
Preseason
Oct 13, 2026 · POR vs SAC
Bench · 7.0 minutes
Impact-0.5
- PTS
- 2
- REB
- 1
- AST
- 0
- STL
- 0
- BLK
- 0
- TO
- 0
A player write-up is not available for these statistics yet.
Shooting & impact breakdown
Shooting
- FG
- 33.3% 3 attempts
- 3PT
- 0% 1 attempts
- FT
- — 0 attempts
- Plus/minus
- -10
- True shooting
- 33.3%
How this score adds up
A matching component breakdown is not published for this rating. Missing components are not zero.
Box only · provisional · Calculated Oct 14, 2026 · 05:33 UTC. Game contribution is not player strength or points caused.
Preseason
Oct 12, 2026 · POR vs LON
Bench · 13.7 minutes
Impact-6.4
- PTS
- 3
- REB
- 4
- AST
- 0
- STL
- 0
- BLK
- 1
- TO
- 4
A player write-up is not available for these statistics yet.
Shooting & impact breakdown
Shooting
- FG
- 50% 2 attempts
- 3PT
- 100% 1 attempts
- FT
- — 0 attempts
- Plus/minus
- -4
- True shooting
- 75.0%
How this score adds up
A matching component breakdown is not published for this rating. Missing components are not zero.
Box only · provisional · Calculated Oct 13, 2026 · 09:52 UTC. Game contribution is not player strength or points caused.
Preseason
Oct 7, 2026 · POR vs GSW
Bench · 9.2 minutes
Impact+2.2
- PTS
- 4
- REB
- 3
- AST
- 0
- STL
- 0
- BLK
- 0
- TO
- 0
A player write-up is not available for these statistics yet.
Shooting & impact breakdown
Shooting
- FG
- 50% 4 attempts
- 3PT
- 0% 1 attempts
- FT
- — 0 attempts
- Plus/minus
- +2
- True shooting
- 50.0%
How this score adds up
A matching component breakdown is not published for this rating. Missing components are not zero.
Box only · provisional · Calculated Oct 13, 2026 · 09:31 UTC. Game contribution is not player strength or points caused.
07 / The player file
How Carlson got here.
At a glance.
Last reported availabilityDay-To-Day · ConcussionESPN · reported 2026-10-24. Check the latest team report before tipoff.
- Height
- 7' 0"
- Weight
- 220 lbs
- Age now
- 27 years
- Born
- 1999-06-14
- Hometown
- South Jordan, UT
- College
- Utah
- Experience
- 3rd Season
Signed on 07/01/26
Biography source · ESPN ↗The contract
$2.45M
2026-27 reported base salary
2026-27
$2.45M
Reported base salary. Guarantees and trade restrictions are unverified.
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