Be like Braun: Bill Self’s campers might consider emulating energetic Nuggets guard

The mere mention of Christian Braun’s name on Tuesday had 900 Bill Self basketball campers clapping and stomping their feet in recognition of Braun, the 22-year-old guard who won a national championship at Kansas in 2022 and now is vying for a NBA title with the Denver Nuggets.

“In order to win championships you have to have talent plus intangibles. It’s disciplined talent that wins championships,” 21st-year KU coach Self told the youths during a 10-minute speech before an attentive group of youngsters at Horejsi Center adjacent to Allen Fieldhouse.

Self went on to explain those intangibles possessed by Braun, a 6-foot-6 rookie who will come off the bench for Denver on Wednesday night in Game Three of the NBA Finals. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. in Miami with the best-of-seven series between Denver and Miami knotted 1-1.

“He is tough. He can guard anybody. He’s athletic. He provides energy. He doesn’t turn it over. He is smart and plays his butt off every possession,” Self said of Braun to the campers. “Christian Braun is eighth man in the NBA Finals (for Denver), eighth man. He averages 2.4 points per game. Next thing you know he’s going to be making a lot of money averaging three points a game,” Self added.

A day earlier, at Monday’s Otto Schnellbacher Classic in Topeka, Self in speaking to 100 golfers, also praised Blue Valley Northwest grad Braun, who played for KU three seasons before heading to the NBA.

“My conversations with Christian of late are like this,” Self said Monday. ‘“Hey Christian, you looked good tonight.’ He’ll say, ‘Coach, I always look good.’ That’s as in depth as I’ve gotten with him lately,” Self added with a smile. “You may have noticed the youngster does not lack confidence. I will go there for Game Five and and am looking forward to that,” Self added.

Game Five is set for Monday in Denver.

“C.B. was in a situation that was perfect for him,” Self said of Braun, who was taken 21st overall by the Nuggets in the 2022 NBA Draft.

“He is eighth man on a team that could win a world championship. He played 15 minutes really well the other night (six points, three assists, three steals in 15 minutes in an 111-108 Game Two loss to Miami). He has a chance to be the fifth player to ever win back-to-back college and NBA (titles).

“(The others are) Magic Johnson (1978-79 withMichigan State and 1972-73 Los Angeles Lakers), Bill Russell (1955-56 San Francisco and 56-57 Boston Celtics), Henry Bibby (1971-72 UCLA and 72-73 New York Knicks), Billy Thompson (1985-86 Louisville and 86-87 Lakers). That’d be quite an accomplishment from a youngster from Kansas City who didn’t even start for his AAU team. That’s what makes this cool. It hasn’t been done in a while,” Self stated enthusiastically.

Braun averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds a game for the Nuggets during the regular season. He’s averaged 2.4 points, 1.9 boards during 15 postseason games. He averaged 15.5 minutes in the regular season in 76 games and 11.8 minutes in the playoffs.

Addressing the intangible issue Braun said recently: “Well, in my time on the court, I try to be as high energy as possible, and especially in the playoffs. It’s not as long. Just try to have energy, and I don’t think that stuff at this point of the year affects you as much.”

Asked how much his experience at KU prepared him for “this level of basketball,” Braun said: “It’s been a smooth transition.I think the Nuggets have really let me be me, and that’s a big part of it. But the transition is different. There’s a lot of things that are different. Preparation is different. Then just stepping into a higher level of basketball is different. I think KU obviously helps you as much as you could possibly be helped, and then being there for a couple extra years also helps, playing at a National Championship level also helps.

“There’s a lot of things that help you, but there’s not much that can prepare you for this moment and these moments, but if there was a player that was prepared, I think it would be me,” Braun added.