Sometimes opportunity is all a player needs to prove themself, and, over the past week and change of action, Branden Carlson has witnessed this in full effect with the OKC Thunder.
After a deafeningly quiet two-month stint with the ball club earlier in the year that, ultimately, ended up in him being waived, due to Oklahoma City's continued struggles with injuries Sam Presti and company opted to bring the rookie big back for a second go-around via a 10-day contract on January 7.
This time, he would take full advantage of the opportunity.
In six games played with the varsity team, Carlson surprisingly served as a regular participant within coach Mark Daigneault's rotation, even seeing as many as 18 minutes of action during the club's latest triumph over the Brooklyn Nets while playing a crucial role in their blow-out revenge win over the Cavaliers last week, registering a career-high 11 points and grabbing four rebounds.
We see you, @ballerbranden35! pic.twitter.com/L8MKmFSylR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 17, 2025
Due to the makeup of his deal signed earlier in the month, the center's time under contract just recently came to a close and, as a result, he became eligible to look for a new place of residency.
However, it appears his preference is to stay put in the Sooner State for a little while longer, and, apparently, the feeling is mutual as the Thunder announced on Wednesday that they have officially re-upped with Carlson for the third time this year by way of a second-straight 10-day contract.
Thunder bring back Branden Carlson on second-straight 10-day contract
While this transaction may not be the exciting one fans have been waiting to see the Thunder make at this point in the year, especially when considering the NBA is in the final weeks of trade season, it makes a ton of sense considering they're current circumstances.
On top of the fact that cornerstone big Chet Holmgren is still a ways away from returning from his right iliac hip fracture, OKC also has pivot Isaiah Hartenstein shelved at the moment with a left soleus strain.
Because of this, the team has been forced to revert back to their small-ball style of play from earlier in the season that, though saw them stay afloat, it was merely the equivalent of treading water as they initially went 3-2 while rolling out such lineups.
Now with the big man's extended stay, they now retain much-needed size and overall familiarity with the system.
At 7-feet, 220 pounds, Branden Carlson's third stint with the Thunder will provide them a sturdy reserve weapon down in the frontcourt while his floor-spacing abilities (he hit a triple in each game he played under his last 10-day) could prove to be quite beneficial to their offensive game plan moving forward.
Over his last six games with the organization, the rookie has averaged 5.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and just shy of a block while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and 52.9 percent from distance in 9.3 minutes a night.