An ability to adapt from one winning environment to the next has afforded Christian Braun an opportunity to join an exclusive club of champions.
Not only is Braun, selected 21st overall in the 2022 draft, the last rookie playing meaningful minutes in the playoffs, but he’s also got a chance to join a short list of players who won an NCAA championship and NBA title in back-to-back seasons. If the Nuggets end up hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy, Denver’s rookie from Kansas would be the fifth member of the club, joining, Bill Russell (1956-57), Henry Bibby (1972-73) Magic Johnson (1979-80) and Billy Thompson (1986-87).
“I'm not going to sit here and say it was me coming in and changing anything. It was me coming in and adapting to what was already set up before I got there,” Braun said after the Nuggets practiced Saturday.
“KU had a culture set up when I got there, and I was just really easily able to adapt to that. I think I would say the same thing for here.”
Braun compared his rookie season in the NBA to his freshman season in Lawrence. The Jayhawks had a talented squad when he arrived with a few state championships from his time at nearby Blue Valley Northwest High School. He carved out a role in Bill Self’s program not by trying to score in whatever minutes he got but by doing the other things that impact winning. A similar approach helped in Denver.
“They saw that when I was put in that position, I didn't try to do too much, and I just wanted to win. I wanted to make winning plays, those energy effort plays, and I think that this team is a team, when I got here, that was, like, super talented, like the most talented team in the NBA probably. We just needed pieces. We didn't need anybody to come in off the bench and try to do too much, try to shoot too much,” Braun said.
“We just needed pieces that complement what we already have, and I think they saw that I was willing to do that, willing to play defense. Then, obviously. they taught me a lot over the course of the year. So, I think that's probably how I earned their trust.”
His playing time in the playoffs is evidence of that trust. Braun played seven or more minutes in every game of the first two rounds. Game 4 against the Lakers, when Michael Malone went with a seven-man rotation in a successful attempt to finish the sweep, is the only playoff game Braun hasn’t played in so far. He knows what’s expected whether he gets three minutes, like he did during Game 3 in Los Angeles, or 20, as was the case in Game 5 against Phoenix.
“Whether you get two minutes or you get 20 minutes, you have to make an impact in those minutes, and there was times definitely I could have been better,” Braun said.
“Looking back on that, I have to be able to build on that and learn from different mistakes. You know you're going to make mistakes, but the leash gets shorter in the playoffs. We are winning. We swept in the Conference Finals. So, there's nothing to be upset about or anything like that. You've just got to learn from it. You have two minutes, and then you have to make an impact in those two minutes and the team has to be better when you're on the court.”
What his role looks like in the Finals remains to be seen. He could be turned to as a defensive option to give Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum or Jimmy Butler a different look. However it works out, Braun is back in a familiar spot playing for a championship.
“I'm pretty much right where I'm supposed to be. I got drafted to a perfect fit and this is where we all expected to be,” Braun said.
“Winning my last year and then coming straight here and getting into the situation that, one, is a good fit, and two, we get to win right away, I couldn't imagine a better spot to be.”