Nuggets rookie's performance forces announcer to learn his name

Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Nuggets rookie's performance forces ESPN broadcaster to learn his name

By Sean Keane | Last updated 6/9/23

Rookie Christian Braun was so good in Game 3, Jeff Van Gundy learned to say his name correctly.

Braun — pronounced like "Brown" — had 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench. 11 of those points came in the second half, when Braun went 5-of-6 from the field. He also had an assist, two tough rebounds and a steal he took in for a monster dunk.

#Nuggets rookie Christian Braun flies in on the cut and floats it in...

...then immediately proceeds to get the steal and take it down the court for the big slam dunk#Nuggets pic.twitter.com/RDFcMOVaKu
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) June 8, 2023

He won respect for almost everyone watching. Except Van Gundy, who insisted that Braun was pronouncing his own name incorrectly.

Jeff Van Gundy: "You can't spell your name [Christian] Braun and then say 'Oh yeah, by the way, call me Brown.'"

Mark Jackson: "What would your name be?"

JVG: "Hey, it looks like it's Van Gundy but call me Jones." pic.twitter.com/0hgaNofmGH
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 17, 2023

It's not even the first time this has come up with Van Gundy. He started complaining about how Bruce Brown and Braun pronounced their names the same during a Nuggets-Lakers playoff game last month.

Parody becoming reality.

-Bruce Brown with an incredible play
-Van Gundy (not mentioning the play at all) goes on a rant about Christian Braun's last name
-Mike Breen quietly continues announcing the action pic.twitter.com/mwTcmpzXoT
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 17, 2023

He couldn't stop talking about it back in November, during a game that didn't even involve Braun and the Nuggets.

Jeff Van Gundy just went off about how Christian Braun’s last name shouldn’t be pronounced “Brown” in the middle of Celtics-Cavs.
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 3, 2022

Perhaps sick of JVG's antics, the production team finally put up an infographic that explained the correct pronunciation and Van Gundy grudgingly accepted it. And by the end, he was extremely complimentary of the Nuggets' backup guard.

Jeff Van Gundy: "I don't know what chain they give out after the game, but it better be given to Christian Braun."
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) June 8, 2023

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