Braxton Key (born February 14, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

Grand Rapids Gold The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

and the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

Early life and high school career

Key is the nephew of NBA player

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

, who starred at the University of Virginia. Key's father Eric Key played at

Radford University Radford University is a public university in Radford, Virginia. It is one of the state's eight doctorate-granting public universities. Founded in 1910, Radford offers curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, graduate programs inclu ...

. Under his childhood surname of Blackwell, Key played three seasons with

Christ Presbyterian Academy Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory school for grades preschool through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The school provides education through a Christian worldview. CPA is affiliated with C ...

, leading the team to a state title in 2013 and winning

TSSAA The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), along with the affiliated Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association (TMSAA), is an organization which administers junior and senior high school sporting events in Tennessee. The TSSAA ...

's Mr. Basketball award in 2014 and 2015. He then transferred to Oak Hill Academy for his senior year, where he played under his father's surname for the first time and led the team to a 45–1 record and national championship.

College career

Key averaged a team-high 12 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a freshman at

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. He scored a season-high 26 points against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and was named to the All-SEC Freshman team. As a sophomore, Key averaged 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.4 blocks per game. He was hobbled by a knee injury that forced him to miss some playing time. After the season, Key transferred to Virginia and was granted an immediate eligibility waiver by the NCAA. In the 2018–19 season, Key won a national championship at Virginia, scoring six points, pulling down 10 rebounds and blocking one shot in the title game against

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. Key averaged 5.7 points and 5.3 rebounds as a junior, starting six games. Key had surgery for a wrist injury in November 2019 and missed several games. He returned to action on December 18 against Stony Brook. At the conclusion of the regular season, Key was named All-ACC Honorable Mention. As a senior, Key averaged 9.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

Professional career

Delaware Blue Coats (2021–2022)

After going undrafted in the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

, Key joined the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was founde ...

of the

in January 2021, after being selected in the G League draft. On March 2, he posted a season-high 19 points to go with five rebounds, two assists, two steals two blocks in a 120–92 win over the

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite is a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Based in Henderson, Nevada, the team was designed to play exhibition games outside the G League's traditional scheduling as part of a one-year development program for e ...

. On October 13, 2021, Key signed with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

, but was waived the same day. On October 25, he re-signed with Delaware. In 43 career NBA G League games, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks in 23.7 minutes.

Philadelphia 76ers (2022)

On January 5, 2022, Key signed a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Key appeared in two games for the 76ers, scoring two points in six total minutes. After his 10-day contract expired, Key was reacquired by the Delaware Blue Coats.

Detroit Pistons / Motor City Cruise (2022)

On March 24, 2022, Key signed a 10-day contract with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. On April 3, he signed a two-way contract. On December 26, 2022, Key was waived.

Second stint with Delaware (2023)

On January 1, 2023, Key was re-acquired by the

, and eventually helped the team win the

title.

Vaqueros de Bayamón (2023)

On April 14, 2023, Key signed with

Vaqueros de Bayamón The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a Puerto Rican basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Vaqueros play their home games at Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, a venue shared with the Liga de Voleibol Superior F ...

of the

Puerto Rican league Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

. He was released on May 31.

Denver Nuggets (2023–present)

Braxton Key signed with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

for the NBA 2K24 Summer League. On July 18, 2023, Key signed a two-way contract with the

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 3.2 , , .500 , , .000 , , , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 9 , , 0 , , 21.2 , , .457 , , .300 , , .538 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , 1.000 , , , , 1.000 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 20 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .412 , , .400 , , .750 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 34 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .456 , , .308 , , .652 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .4 , , .4 , , 3.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 30 , , 29.8 , , .433 , , .330 , , .634 , , 5.7 , , 2.5 , , .6 , , .6 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 17 , , 25.2 , , .409 , , .250 , , .667 , , 5.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, 38 , , 6 , , 19.8 , , .433 , , .305 , , .731 , , 5.3 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , .6 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 25 , , 33.6 , , .435 , , .185 , , .584 , , 7.4 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 9.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 125 , , 78 , , 26.6 , , .429 , , .274 , , .645 , , 5.8 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .6 , , 8.6

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bioAlabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Braxton 1997 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Delaware Blue Coats players Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons players Grand Rapids Gold players Motor City Cruise players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards Small forwards Undrafted NBA players Vaqueros de Bayamón basketball players Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players