Former KU Jayhawks guard Braun scores three points for Nuggets in NBA exhibition debut
Former Kansas shooting guard Christian Braun scored three points, all from the free-throw line, in the Denver Nuggets’ 112-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Braun’s NBA exhibition season debut Monday night in Denver.
Braun, who elected to turn pro after helping the Jayhawks to a national title in his junior season, went 0-for-6 from the field (0-for-2 from three) in 16 minutes.
Coming off the bench Monday, he hit 3 of 4 free throw attempts. He also had two rebounds and two fouls.
Former Missouri Tigers star Michael Porter Jr. started and had 12 points in 14 minutes for the Nuggets.
Before the game, Brandon Ewing of SB Nation wrote this about former Blue Valley Northwest standout Braun, as well as fellow first-round NBA Draft pick Peyton Watson, a 6-8 small forward out of UCLA. Watson had two points in 15 minutes Monday.
“Both players had moments where they shined during summer league and seeing that carry over into the preseason could be huge One area Braun struggled at during summer league was three-point shooting, which is something that hopefully won’t be an issue any more,” Ewing wrote. “In regards to Watson, his explosiveness and length is something that stood out at summer league, which is something you would like to see more of in the preseason on into the season.
“There is no telling how much playing time Braun or Watson are going to get in the regular season, so making the most of their preseason minutes could be huge for their development.”
Braun, who was taken at No. 21 overall in the 2022 Draft, averaged 14.1 points on 49.5% shooting (38.6% from three-point range, 73.3% from line) for KU’s 2022 national championship team.
Braun is expected to help the Nuggets improve their defense this season.
“We understand that you can’t be 15th in the NBA in defensive efficiency and be serious about winning at a high level. When you add guys like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, DeAndre Jordan, you draft guys like Peyton Watson and Christian Braun, I think we addressed a lot of the defensive holes via personnel changes,” coach Michael Malone told milehighsports.com. ‘But it’s also going to be a challenge to all of the returning players. We have to be a lot better.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2022 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Former KU Jayhawks guard Braun scores three points for Nuggets in NBA exhibition debut."
