Braun shot 35.4 percent from three in his rookie year, and should be a nice piece around Jokic for Denver moving forward.īy the way, his last name is pronounced like “Brown.” Just a little tip for you while watching the 2023 NBA Finals. He averaged more than 13 minutes per game off the bench in that series, and earned praise for defending Kevin Durant on select possessions. Who would have guessed that coming into this year?īraun didn’t play much for the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, but he was a key piece during the second round series against the Phoenix Suns. Arnie Ferrin (Utah 1948, Minneapolis Lakers 1949)Ĭhristian Braun could join a list that includes Magic Johnson and Bill Russell if the Nuggets win it all.Billy Thompson (Louisville 1986, Los Angeles Lakers 1987).Henry Bibby (UCLA 1972, New York Knicks 1973).After winning a national title in April 2022 with Kansas in his final year of college, Braun is now a champion again with the Nuggets. Bill Russell (San Francisco 1956, Boston Celtics 1957) Nuggets rookie Christian Braun has had a pretty good year.Magic Johnson, (Michigan State 1979, Los Angeles Lakers 1980).Christian Braun can become the fifth if the Nuggets win it all this season. If the Nuggets win the championship, Braun will be the sixth player in history to immediately follow a college basketball championship with an NBA championship. Only five players in NBA history have won a championship the year after winning an NCAA title. The Nuggets surround Jokic and co-star Jamal Murray with a group of big defenders and shooters, and that includes Braun, who has established himself a real playoff piece during this postseason run. Christian Braun could become the fifth player to win an NCAA title and an NBA championship in back-to-back seasons. The Nuggets are in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history led by the superstar play of big man Nikola Jokic. The Denver Nuggets are now on the brink of making their championship dreams come true. He was a key part of a national title team at Kansas, and should be able to contribute right away for a Nuggets team with title aspirations this year.” MIAMI Denver Nuggets rookie reserve Christian Braun had six points through the first two games of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Braun plays with great intensity, can get after it at the point of attack defensively, and has even more shooting upside than his college numbers show. SB Nation gave the Nuggets a B+ grade for the pick, writing “Love this pick for the Nuggets. 21 overall pick in the ensuring NBA Draft. The Denver Nuggets selected the 6’6 junior wing with the No. He received high praise for that performance from Jokic, who said Braun "won us the game" after guys were struggling to put points on the board.Christian Braun caught the eye of NBA evaluators when he emerged as a key player on the Kansas Jayhawks’ 2022 national championship team. Explore: Forestparkgolfcourse is a website that writes about many topics of interest to you, its a blog that shares knowledge and insights useful to everyone in many fields. ![]() ![]() He was a key figure in breaking Miami's zone defense in that game, making great off-ball cuts to the rim, and attacking on closeouts when the ball swung to him. ![]() With 15 points on 7 of 8 from the field, Braun became just the fourth rookie in the last 20 years with a 15-point performance in the Finals. While Braun didn't have quite the same level of impact as guys like Russell and Johnson did on their title teams as rookies, the former Kansas product did have his moment during this championship run in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Braun joins Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Henry Bibby and Billy Thompson as the only players to accomplish that feat. ![]() But it pales compared to praise from his mom. And praise from them is nice, for certain. He was then drafted 21st overall by the Nuggets in the 2022 NBA Draft, and after a rookie season that saw him appear in 76 games, he joins a short list of players who have won at the college level and in the NBA in consecutive years. DENVER (AP) Nuggets rookie Christian Braun gets high praise from coach Michael Malone, and his star teammates Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray also rave about the rookie. Rookie guard Christian Braun joined an elite group of names after the final buzzer sounded and the Nuggets were crowned champions, becoming just the fifth player in league history to win an NBA title and NCAA championship in back-to-back years.īraun was a starter on the University of Kansas team that won a championship in 2022, overcoming the largest deficit in NCAA title game history to help capture the Jayhawks' fourth men's basketball title. Nikola Jokic was named Finals MVP after putting together a historic playoff run, but he's not the only Nuggets player who made history en route to Denver's championship. It finally happened - the Denver Nuggets have won an NBA championship after beating the Miami Heat, 94-89, in Game 5 Monday night to close out the series.
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