2023-10-11 10:00:00
An NBA champion at the age of 22, former Kansas shooting guard Christian Braun exudes confidence as he enters his second season with the Denver Nuggets.
“Christian is walking around like a guy who won a championship. Christian’s walking around like a guy who won a game for us on the road in the NBA Finals as a rookie,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told the Denver Gazette at last week’s Nuggets Media Day in Denver.
The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Blue Valley Northwest graduate — he scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds while playing 19 minutes in Denver’s pivotal Game 3 road victory over the Miami Heat in the 2023 finals — averaged 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 16.3 minutes in the championship series, won by Denver four games to one.
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He was a rotation player for the Nuggets both during the playoffs and regular season just months after starting on KU’s 2021-22 NCAA title team.
“He was the best player in our gym most days this summer,” Malone told the Denver Post. “You’re just watching that swagger he has and the experience he went through last season in the playoffs, in the finals. Not many rookies have the impact that he did.”
Braun, who averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.5 minutes a game during 76 regular-season appearances, entertained the media while sitting at the same table as current rookie Julian Strawther at Nuggets Media Day.
“I grew a beard. That was mandatory,” Braun said with a smile when asked what he focused on this past offseason. “I worked on my jump shot a little bit, handling the ball, being more a secondary ball-handler. I tried to sharpen up the tools I already had. I think it’s more important to be good at what I was already good at. That’s what got me on the floor and is what is going to keep me on the floor — sharpening the tools I already had and focus on hitting the jump shot and handling the ball more.”
Braun, the No. 21 pick in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, hit 35.4% of his 3s as a rookie after connecting on 37.8% of his 3s combined during his three seasons at KU.
More minutes figure to be available this season with Braun expected to replace guard Bruce Brown, who signed with Indiana in the offseason.
“The next step is shooting 40% (on) spot-up 3s,” Braun said. “It makes me harder to guard. That’s what this team needs, me doing that. That’s something I’ve done my whole life. It’s not like I couldn’t shoot before. It was never that. It’s an opportunity you get, a chance to step up in a role and get to do that more.
“Last year my role was cutting, making layups and shooting wide open (3s). This year I’m going to have an opportunity to show other things. I’m excited about that.”
Braun, the brother of current KU senior Parker Braun, noted that, “My first year I had to be a role player, a guy that came in and did the little things. I think this year I’m going to get to show off a little more of my ball-handling. We have a lot of guys that can do it. I’m going to be part of that role.”
Braun played a lot of pickup basketball this offseason with friends in the Kansas City area. He went to work on improving his overall game after a week or two of celebrating the Nuggets’ title.
He was the unofficial star of the Nuggets’ victory parade in downtown Denver. He hopped off a firetruck and visited with fans on the parade route while drinking some adult beverages.
“It was up there; it wasn’t bad. It was a solid day in Denver. It was a good day,” Braun said of the June 15 parade.
He was asked which was better, the celebration in Denver or celebration in New Orleans after KU’s victory over North Carolina in the 2022 NCAA title game.
“I would say that they were both great,” Braun said. “There’s obviously differences in the championships. As far as the celebration goes, I don’t think New Orleans is even close to what Denver was (at the parade). Just the energy I think in Denver was so fun and so cool to be around. Now that I remember, I think Denver was better for sure.”
Of course, he also enjoyed riding in a convertible down Mass Street during KU’s NCAA title parade a few days after the North Carolina game.
“I think the coolest thing (this offseason) was going back to Kansas and getting to spend time with my family and my friends, people I’ve been with since I was younger,” Braun said at media day. “I had a lot of people who have been part of my journey. They are a big reason why I’m here, so getting to spend that time with them and celebrate with them, feeling the love … obviously they are very proud of me. That means a lot. I tried to show them how much I appreciate them and appreciate them being a part of it.”
Braun said his mom Lisa is one person who keeps him from getting an inflated ego entering Year 2 in the pros.
“She definitely keeps me in check. She keeps me humble, all those things,” said Braun, known for talking some trash to opponents and interacting with fans after making big shots or forcing turnovers. “I definitely have a good support system.”
Braun realizes there are benefits to his beginning his second year in the NBA. He had certain duties to fill as a rookie, such as wearing a pink cartoon backpack on road trips in 2022-23.
Now the team’s current rookies will likely have to wear such backpacks.
“I actually like my backpack,” Braun said at media day, smiling. “Last year I had all my things in it, everything I needed. It got us a championship. I don’t know if you pass that on. I don’t know if you keep it. We’ll figure it out as the year goes on.”
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