FORT WORTH, Texas -- Like every NBA rookie, Branden Carlson weathered storms in his first professional season. After going undrafted in 2024, he inked a two-way contract with Toronto in July before the Raptors released him mid-October. Carlson then landed with Oklahoma City, which waived him in January 2025.
However, after signing two 10-day contracts with OKC, which ended up winning the 2025 NBA championship, he was rewarded with a two-way deal in February. And in September, Carlson, a former University of Utah standout, signed another two-way deal, an arrangement where he splits time between the NBA and the G-League's OKC Blue.
"Yeah, it's been great, great organization, great teammates, just a good place to be around," Carlson said of his time in the Thunder organization thus far. "Definitely learned a lot, feel like I've really developed as a player with limited playing time.
"The organization and the coaching staff do a great job of prioritizing developing everyone, whether you're playing 20 minutes a game or get garbage minutes once in a while."
A proud Utah native and product of Bingham High in South Jordan, he was a Ute from 2019 through 2024 after serving a two-year Latter-day Saints mission out of high school. He played for both Larry Krystkowiak and Craig Smith, earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a junior and senior, and left campus as the Utes' career leader in blocks and games, and fifth in points.
"I have nothing but love for the University of Utah and what it's done for me. My experiences there helped shape me," Carlson said. "I'm from Utah and (still) go back there every summer. Still in contact with a ton of the guys and getting to see everyone that I was at college with this summer when I went back was great."
The affable 7-footer, who is now 26, also learned a lot by playing under two different coaches at Utah.
"Krystkowiak, he was my coach the first two years. I learned a lot of basic fundamentals," he said. "We talked about how I had only played one year of high school varsity and going there was a lot of development.
"(He said) we're trying to get you better, gain more confidence, and work on your game because you are so young and raw. That was the biggest thing with him; I was able to learn.
"With Coach Smith, the biggest thing was go play your game," he continued. "That gave me a lot of freedom and (he) trusted me and what I could do. I was able to continue to develop because he let me do what I needed to do but also gave me good structure."
On Nov. 25, 2024, Carlson made his NBA debut at Sacramento, playing the final three minutes of a blowout win. His breakout game came on Jan. 16, 2025, against Cleveland when he had 11 points and four rebounds in just over 17 minutes and he concluded his rookie season with his first career double-double, 26 points and 10 rebounds in OKC's regular-season finale on April 13, 2025, at New Orleans.
"Yeah, that (performance against Cleveland) felt great. When coach called my name, I was super excited," Carlson recalled. "I was very shocked but was ready for it at the same time. It felt comfortable when I was out there because I'd been with them for a couple months and knew the coaches had trust in me. Even though I hadn't had an opportunity like that yet, I knew that I could play at my comfort level."
Across the NBA, the Thunder are known for their deft touch at finding diamonds in the rough and OKC head coach Mark Daigneault likes what he's seen thus far from the ex-Ute.
"This has been his first run of an offseason. His body's transformed. He's gained a ton of weight. He looks completely different than a year ago and he got a haircut, which also changes the optics," Daigneault joked in a pregame presser before a preseason game against Dallas in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
"He's had summer league, he's had an offseason, he's had training camp. We're pretty confident (in him). He's a guy that's been in a game for us already and has improved.
"We knew he would get a bump just by being in our ecosystem for an offseason that we didn't get for him last year. That's gone very well and we're very optimistic about him."
Carlson also played seven games for the Blue last season, averaging 18.6 points, nine rebounds, 3.1 blocks, and 2.7 assists per game. When asked how he thinks he's changed most over the past year, he cited a simple change, which draws from the lessons in self-discipline and maturity learned during his church mission.
"Biggest thing I've changed is my approach to the game. Instead of going around and just playing hard, I'm more intentional with how I try to read the court more and play off others," he said. "(Increasing) my overall (basketball) IQ has been a bigger focus,"
"It's pretty cool when you see them. You talk about the brotherhood of Utah. Even though I didn't play with (Kuzma) or Delon (Wright), every time I see them,I have great interaction.With Jakob (Poeltl),it was fun to be with him in Toronto.We were able to reminisce about Utahandtell storiesofourexperiencewithKrystkowiak."
As he looks around the NBA and sees several fellow ex-Utes like Kyle Kuzma (Milwaukee), Jakob Poeltl (Toronto) and Delon Wright (Indiana), also living their hoop dreams, it makes him happy.
As he enters year two in the Association, he does still miss the Ute fans and the passion they always brought to the Huntsman Center.
"The love I got from them was always amazing. I always felt it. The excitement I would feel during games (was great)," he said. "I always loved playing in front of a big crowd. That's what made those games the most memorable."
Since his time with Toronto, much has changed for Branden Carlson but in a good way. This includes his rookie duties, which are now minimal.
"There's some rookie duties (here). Luckily for me, I didn't have to do too much," he said. "I helped with bags every once in a while but I think being 25, some guys forgot I was a rookie, so I didn't have to do too much. "When I was with the Raptors, they had me carry a pink backpack around, but I left that in Toronto."