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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Kevin Sweeney

Nuggets Rookie Christian Braun Made Some Really Cool NCAA/NBA History With Denver's Title

Christian Braun Nuggets NBA NCAA Denver (Organization) Bill Russell Magic Johnson Billy Thompson Kansas (Organization)

Nuggets rookie Christian Braun has had a pretty good year.

After winning a national title in April 2022 with Kansas in his final year of college, Braun is now a champion again with the Nuggets. That puts him in exclusive company: He’s one of five players all-time to win an NCAA and NBA championship in consecutive years, joining Bill Russell, Henry Bibby, Magic Johnson and Billy Thompson.

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Amazingly, Braun’s incredible championship run doesn’t stop with just these back-to-back titles. He also won three consecutive state championships in high school at Blue Valley Northwest in Overland Park, Kans. before arriving at Kansas.

Braun’s college coach with the Jayhawks, Bill Self, was in attendance for Monday’s Game 5 and got to celebrate with his former star after the game.

The Nuggets rookie had a key role in the series, scoring 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the critical Game 3 win that swung the series back in Denver’s favor and played 24 minutes in the decisive Game 5 victory. Braun later weighed in on Twitter early Tuesday morning with a humorous message.

It’s not a bad time to be Christian Braun, that’s for sure. 

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