29 March 2024 , 19:17
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year for Christian Braun. The latter stages of basketball season means playoffs and potentially championships for the Denver Nuggets sophomore.
In his final year of college, Braun played a key role as Kansas navigated March Madness to reach the final. The run culminated in the National Championship game versus North Carolina, with Braun tallying 12 points and 12 rebounds - and defending the Tar Heels’ final offensive play - as Kansas clinched NCAA glory.
Selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Braun established himself as a reliable player off the bench as the Nuggets chased a first championship in franchise history. After reaching the NBA Finals with the series delicately balanced at 1-1, Braun took over in Game 3 against the Miami Heat, scoring 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting in a 19-minute cameo.
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The rookie’s performance helped the Nuggets establish a series lead they would not relinquish. Nikola Jokic secured MVP honours as Denver became NBA champions, and Braun analysed the differences between March Madness and the NBA Playoffs, culminating in the Finals.
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“March Madness is one game, you know any team can get hot for one night and that can end your season, so it’s a little different in terms of approach,” Braun exclusively told Mirror Sport. “In the NBA, there’s a lot of adjustments and changes throughout a whole series whether that’s injuries, different schemes, different defensive systems so it’s a completely different dynamic. Excitement stems from how a team might guard guys or adjust to match up against their opponent, which evolves across a series. Obviously, the talent level is a little higher too.”
Braun appeared to be the perfect pickup for the Nuggets in the 2022 NBA Draft. He starred for a program with a championship pedigree and a winning culture, a culture that the 22-year-old believes was being established in Denver.
“We understood that every year you’re at Kansas, the goal is to win a national title - that’s just the expectation,” Braun said as he compared the traits between the Jayhawks and Nuggets. “At Denver, I know the team had built that culture even before I got here so when I arrived, the Nuggets were solely fixed on winning the title. It was win the title or bust.
“Coming into those expectations, that’s what you want to be a part of. You want to be part of a team that expects to win every single night so that was similar; everyone was on the same page in Kansas in terms of what we wanted to accomplish, and when I got here, everybody wanted to win. We played together, which is the most fun part of basketball.”
Christian Braun won the NBA championship as a rookie after helping the Denver Nuggets see off the Miami Heat in five games (Getty Images)Upon hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Braun became just the fifth player in NBA history to win an NCAA and NBA championship in back-to-back seasons, alongside greats like Bill Russell and Magic Johnson. While he is firmly fixed on looking to the future, Braun is pleased to be in such elite company.
“It’s obviously always great when your name is mentioned with those guys,” he added. “It’s a very cool thing, but I understand it’s a lot bigger than me. Both those championships weren’t individual awards clearly, and I’m very grateful for the coaches and players that I was coached by and played with. But also, I have the chance to do it again which is the coolest part. It would be really cool to go back-to-back-to-back, and I don’t know how many people have done that but I’m sure the list is even shorter. It drives me.”
The Nuggets lead the Western Conference, where it’s tight at the top; Denver are half-a-game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder. But Braun is confident about the chances of a repeat, especially with Jokic leading the way.
“The expectation in Denver is to win a championship,” Braun said matter-of-factly. “As long as we have Jamal [Murray], as long as we have [Nikola] Jokic, every time we step onto the court we expect to win. Anything short of a championship, I would say, is a disappointment in our eyes. The mindset is the same this year as it was last: we want to be the one seed, we want to claim the championship and that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re going to go out, work hard every single day, and try to win the championship again.
“I want this one bad. They say your favourite championship is the next one, and while it’s cool to win a championship in your first year, to have the chance to go back-to-back… you don’t get a lot of chances where you are the best team in the NBA again with the best player in the NBA, plus a guy like Jamal Murray. This is a great opportunity for us and we want to do the right thing.”
Sunday March 31 st – Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Denver Nuggets at 8:30 BST on TNT Sports
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