Browen, who became famous in the NBA, is about to win his fifth championship
On June 8, 2023, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Nuggets defeated the Heat 109-94 on the road, with Jokic 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, and Huangli 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The two leaders scored a 30+ triple-double, while younger brother Braun also rose to fame, scoring 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
If the Nuggets win the championship, Braun's name can be compared to the Magicians, Russell and other celebrities, from the NCAA championship to this year's NBA championship favorite, Braun is a winner in life.
Braun played 19 minutes, scoring 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal on 7-of-8 shooting, and his 15 points were also the highest points besides Jokic and Huangli. He became the first Western Conference rookie since 1994 to score 15 points in a single game in the Finals.
On April 5, 2022, the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game ended, and the University of Kansas defeated the University of North Carolina to win the championship after trailing by 15 points in the first half, Braun started with 12 points and 12 rebounds, which was also a team-high 12 rebounds.
With his outstanding performance in college, the Nuggets selected him with the 21st pick in the first round in the 2022 draft, and he did not live up to the Nuggets' trust. As the only rookie in the Nuggets' eight-man rotation in the Finals, Braun played better than game in the Finals.
Braun didn't play much time with the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, but he was a key piece of the puzzle in the second-round series against the Suns. He averaged more than 13 minutes off the bench in that series and was credited with defending Durant.
If the Nuggets win, Braun will achieve his goal of winning two consecutive seasons from college to NBA, a feat accomplished by only five people before:
Magic Johnson (Michigan State University 1979, Los Angeles Lakers 1980)
Bill Russell (San Francisco 1956, Boston Celtics 1957)
Henry Bibby (UCLA 1972, New York Knicks 1973)
Billy Thompson (1986 Louisville, Los Angeles Lakers)
Arnie Ferrin (Utah 1948, Minneapolis Lakers 1949)
In fact, if you count the three high school championships, Braun will win the fifth championship in his life. Braun won the high school league championship in Kansas for three consecutive years.
Braun's performance has been highly praised by Nuggets coach Malone and team leaders Jokic and Ori. Malone: Braun is a complete competitor, he loves physical confrontation, and he is never afraid of competition. Players who come from the winning environment know how to win the game. They understand the meaning of sacrifice, they are determined, they are very self-disciplined, and Braun is such a guy.
After the G1 finals, Jokic said: "It's been a very good year for Braun, he's been aggressive at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, he's a champion, he played a few games before coming here, he knows what to do and can't look at it as a rookie.
After the finals G3, Ori said: Braun knows what it takes to stay on the pitch, he is consistent and can fill the gap. He plays with confidence, like a veteran who has played for five years.
Braun has received full recognition from his teammates, but he has not received praise from his mother. Speaking about his mother, Braun said: "My mother gave me constructive criticism, and my mother was more critical. Most of the time her criticism is not constructive. She occasionally gives advice, but there's no doubt that Mom is the pickiest of us. She would text me, mostly at halftime of games, and when she saw something she didn't like, she would text me to tell me. My mom is a critical person, but I know it's her love for me.
Of course, Mom does have the right to criticize Braun. Braun's mother, Lisa Braun, is part of a basketball family. She and her six siblings in the Sandbot family, all statewide players, all went to college on athletic scholarships and were inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame together in 2019. She excelled at the University of Missouri, a two-time All-Star in the National League of Eight.
Born into a basketball family and with his mother's strict requirements, Braun's success should be a natural one.
Let's go back to this game, Braun took the ball after the start of the fourth quarter, and of course he not only broke through himself, but also made an open shot to Jokic after attracting the defense. At 8:45 of the game, Ori was caught in a double bag, and Braun got a chance to receive a pass from him to make it a 2+1, which directly extinguished the Heat's counterattack.
In a quick counterattack that followed, Braun knocked Butler straight away, a ball that sent his teammates on the bench standing to cheer. It can be said that Braun was a surprise soldier, and his outstanding performance completely disrupted Spoo's arrangement and helped the Nuggets win the key three games.
Burst Lowry, knock Butler, force eat Adebayo, and Finals rookie Braun has gone crazy.