Former KU guard Christian Braun playing stellar defense during rookie season in NBA
Denver Nuggets rookie Christian Braun, who has emerged as a key reserve the first two weeks of the NBA season, scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in 25 productive minutes in an 110-99 victory over LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in Denver.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound former University of Kansas guard provided a boost on offense, yet his biggest contribution in that Nuggets victory came on the defensive end.
Braun held future Hall of Famer James to four points on 2-of-5 shooting during stretches when the 21-year-old Braun was assigned to guard the 37-year-old James. James finished that contest with 19 points on 8-of-21 marksmanship. He also had nine assists and seven boards.
“You can talk about a lot of things in terms of what constitutes a good defender. I think the biggest part of it is the will, the want. Switching onto LeBron James, he (Braun) is a rookie. He was in college last year hanging out at frat parties and he is out here not afraid,” Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the game, as quoted by Yahoo!Sports reporter Cody Taylor.
“He is going to get scored on. He is going to make mistakes. He is in like an advanced program right now and he is excelling,” Malone added.
Braun, the No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, played two minutes in the season opener. Since then he’s logged double digit minutes in every game for the Nuggets, who take a 3-2 record into Friday’s game against Utah in Denver.
Braun scored four points with five rebounds, three assists and three steals in Game Two of the season — a 128-123 win over Golden State, a team led by phenom Steph Curry. Braun in that game played 23 minutes. In that span he guarded Curry, Klay Thompson, Jonathan Kuminga and former KU wing Andrew Wiggins at different junctures.
“Going back and watching the film, his defense was even better than I thought,” wrote Harrison Wind of thednvr.com. “Braun’s feet are lighting quick. He navigates around screens better than most of the Nuggets’ roster. He seemed to know the exact tendencies of every single player he guarded. He attempted to deny his man the ball every time when he was defending one pass away. As a help defender, he was quick to rotate as the low man in pick-and-roll coverage. He was aggressive but poised for a rookie going against top-tier offensive talent on a national stage.”
Braun had nine points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting in a 122-117 home win over Oklahoma City in the third game of the campaign. He came down to earth in Game Four versus Portland, failing to score but grabbing three rebounds in a 135-110 loss at Portland.
“He doesn’t look like he doesn’t belong and you can’t say that about a lot of rookies,” Malone told Yahoo. “ I’m just so proud of the kid. He doesn’t blink. He doesn’t get rattled. He is really a cool-hand Luke — just calm, cool and collected. A fun kid to watch.”
Yahoo!Sports reporter Taylor envisions a huge role for Braun this season.
“It is hard to imagine a game in which Braun doesn’t play big minutes moving forward, a testament to his work ethic and ability on the court,” Taylor wrote.
Of his early-season success, Braun told the Denver Gazette: “It’s pretty simple. I knew coming in that I needed to guard and make the game easier on everybody else (by) playing defense. On offense, throw him (Nikola Jokic) the ball and move. That’s all it is.
“I knew that offense would take a little longer. It’s a different game in the NBA,” Braun added. “Once that part of the game slows down, it will be great. But I knew that this team was going to need me defensively and it was important that I do what I’m good at.”
Braun credited his two previous coaches – Ed Fritz at Blue Valley Northwest and Bill Self at KU – for teaching him how to be a well-rounded player.
“That’s how you play basketball. You don’t play basketball to score or be selfish,” Braun told the Gazette. “You play the game the right way, and it starts on defense. That’s how I’ve been taught growing up, so that’s how I always play.”
Dotson is with G League team
Former KU point guard Devon Dotson, who was cut by the Washington Wizards on Oct. 15 after signing with the team in late September, is on the roster of the Wizards’ G League team. The Capital City Go-Go.
Dotson is currently at Go-Go training camp, according to a Twitter post of NBA reporter Wayne Cole.
Dotson — he was not selected in the 2020 NBA Draft after his two seasons at KU — played in 11 games for the Chicago Bulls in both 2020-21 and 2021-22. He also played for the Windy City Bulls of the G League those same seasons.
Dotson, a 6-foot-1 Chicago native, turned 23 in August.
