2026-27 projection
| GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 9.0 | .525 | .650 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Correction 2026-07-18: raised from 25 GP / 5.0 MPG to 35 / 9.0 and the counting stats re-derived from his Oklahoma City rate (5.8/3.0 in 11.6 minutes). Part of redistributing the season minutes the team page had left unassigned. He still receives zero healthy-night minutes; the change reflects that Williams is forecast for only 52 games and Clingan 72, so the third-big minutes are more numerous than the prior line assumed.
Role and evidence
Portland signed Carlson on July 1. He averaged 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 11.6 minutes across 42 games for Oklahoma City, shooting .527 from the field and .360 from three. Trail Blazers, 2026-07-01
His spacing is the differentiator behind Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III, but Yang Hansen is the protected development asset and Micah Potter also stretches the floor. Carlson receives zero healthy-night minutes and an injury-fill-in season average.
Fantasy value
- 9-cat / points: 230+; not draftable.
- Dynasty: 220+; useful only in 30-team or very deep salary formats.
- Streaming trigger: confirmed start or 20+ minutes when at least three Portland centers are unavailable.
Range
- Ceiling: wins the third-center job and reproduces 6/3 with one three.
- Floor: inactive most nights or waived during roster consolidation.
Related: Portland Trail Blazers · Micah Potter · Yang Hansen
Career record
Pre-NBA: Five seasons at Utah (Pac-12), a genuine slow-build — 7.0 points as a freshman, then 9.4, 13.6, 16.3 and 17.0 points with 6.6 rebounds as a fifth-year senior in 2023-24. He finished with 146 games, 12.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, leaving as Utah's all-time blocks leader with 241, and made first-team All-Pac-12 in 2023 and 2024. Draft: undrafted (2024); signed a two-way with Toronto, was waived in October 2024, played for Raptors 905, then joined Oklahoma City on a 10-day and later a two-way.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 25 | OKC | 32 | 7.7 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | .443 | .778 | 0.2 |
| 2025-26 | 26 | OKC | 42 | 11.6 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.7 | .527 | .577 | 0.4 |
| Career | 74 | 9.9 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.7 | .498 | .659 | 0.3 |
He was on the Oklahoma City roster for the 2025 championship, in a deep-bench role.
Durability: 32 and 42 games in two seasons. Both totals are contract and rotation artifacts — two-way status, Blue assignments and a Thunder roster with no shortage of bigs — rather than injury. No significant injury history is on record.
Trajectory: Two seasons of small but improving samples, and the improvement is in the right places: field goal percentage from .443 to .527 and rebounds from 1.7 to 3.0 while minutes rose from 7.7 to 11.6. The skill is real if narrow — a 7-footer taking two threes per game at 34.9% for his career with a block every 16 minutes, which is exactly the third-center archetype teams keep around. The two liabilities are free throw shooting, which collapsed to 57.7% in 2025-26, and a lack of defensive mobility that has kept him from earning consistent minutes anywhere. Portland gave him a one-year deal to be the fourth big; he needs both Clingan and Williams unavailable before he sees 20 minutes, and Yang Hansen has the organization's development priority ahead of him.
Career sources: ESPN career stats · Wikipedia · Trail Blazers — Portland signs Branden Carlson
Open questions
- Is Carlson's one-year salary guaranteed?
- Can he defend well enough for his shooting to matter?