Christian Nicholas Braun (born April 17, 2001) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and was a starter on the team that won the 2022 NCAA Championship.

High school career

Braun played basketball for

Blue Valley Northwest High School Blue Valley Northwest High School (BVNW) is a high school in Overland Park, Kansas, United States. Blue Valley Northwest is one of five high schools operated by Blue Valley USD 229 school district. Blue Valley Northwest is a member of the Kansas ...

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

. As a senior, he averaged 27.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, leading his team to a third straight Class 6A state title. He was named Mr. Kansas Basketball and Kansas

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...

. He committed to playing college basketball for

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

over offers from

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, among others. On April 4, 2022, the school declared that day Christian Braun Day.

College career

As a freshman at Kansas, Braun averaged 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, earning

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

All-Freshman Team honors. On November 27, 2020, he recorded a career-high 30 points, nine rebounds and four steals in a 94–72 win over Saint Joseph's. As a sophomore, Braun averaged 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He was named to the Second Team All-

as a junior. In the Final Four against Villanova, he became the 65th player to reach 1,000 points for Kansas, finishing that game with 10 points and helping the Jayhawks reach the championship. In the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

against the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

, he had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, which helped Kansas rally from a 40–25 halftime deficit. In the final possession of that game, he defended Caleb Love's three-point attempt, sealing the win and giving him his first NCAA title. On April 24, 2022, Braun declared for the 2022 NBA draft, while maintaining his college eligiblity. On May 25, 2022, he confirmed he would remain in the NBA draft and forego his senior season.

Professional career

Denver Nuggets (2022–present)

Braun was picked by the

with the 21st overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft. His first start for the team came on 20th December, in a home game against the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. He played 29 minutes, recording 13 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, helping Denver win 105-91.

Career statistics

College

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, 31 , , 5 , , 18.4 , , .431 , , .444 , , .731 , , 2.9 , , .5 , , .7 , , .2 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 30 , , 31.2 , , .380 , , .340 , , .786 , , 5.2 , , 1.9, , 1.2 , , .4 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 40 , , 39 , , 34.4 , , .495 , , .386 , , .733 , , 6.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 14.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 101 , , 74 , , 28.5 , , .449 , , .378 , , .749 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 10.1

Personal life

Braun's brother, Parker, as well as his uncle, have played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. Parker currently plays for

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

. His mother's family was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4, ...

. He also has two brothers, one older and one younger. Braun launched a fashion line, THE CB2 Collection.

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Christian Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players People from Burlington, Kansas Shooting guards 2001 births