The evolution was televised.
For three seasons, we have watched Christian Braun grow up before our eyes. From high-energy rookie to solid bench player to irreplaceable starter.
Braun, we can all agree, is not Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He is better.
Former coach Michael Malone bristled over losing Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic. It showed up in all places when he tried to compliment his replacement.
“Christian Braun is not going to be KCP,” Malone said about Braun’s shooting after a game last October. “So I think we all have to understand that, which I think we do, and embrace CB for who he is.”
Saddled with tepid expectations, Braun has exceeded them. He made a case for the NBA’s most improved player last season, boosting his scoring average from 7.3 points to 15.4, while becoming more efficient from the 3-point line at 39.7 %.
KCP, by comparison, averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 41.5 % from beyond the arc in two seasons in Denver.
Caldwell-Pope was a stronger defender. But Braun was solid before tiring and working through injuries that affected him on the ball over the final month last season.
Pope is 32 with the end nearing. Braun is 24 with a higher ceiling.
The Nuggets are better with Braun, even with a contract extension looming.
After establishing himself as a core player, Braun has put himself in position to earn upwards of $30 million per season. Will that mean a five-year, $150 million deal or a more club-friendly contract around $130 million? Either way, he has earned it.
KCP defected as a free agent for $66 million over three years. Eight years younger, Braun is worth $8 million more per season.
He does not crave the spotlight — a good thing on a team full of stars — but it finds him in the corners, diving for loose balls and finishing in transition. When looking for reasons the Nuggets will win a championship, Braun belongs high on the checklist.
“The little things he does can get overlooked. But he’s the glue for our starting unit. He does a little bit of everything,” said teammate Peyton Watson of Braun, who was recently ranked as the NBA’s 62nd best player by ESPN. “C.B. is that guy. We have all seen his growth and transformation as a player since he came in here as a (21-year-old). And it’s great to see.”
Braun projects confidence, walking like he is about to dunk on someone or already has. But it hides his motivation, those flickers of doubt, that insecurity that once made him a liability as a long-range shooter.
“Each year, I have to prove myself. That’s the most important part. Coming into this season, our team is so deep,” Braun said. “Last year, play good or play bad, I knew I was going to get my minutes. This year, that is not the case.”
That is the humility talking. Braun is not leaving the starting five, despite the addition of Tim Hardaway Jr. and the return of Bruce Brown. He provides the Nuggets with a defensive presence if not menace, playing his best in physical matchups against the opposition’s best player.
Braun knows what is at stake this season and where he fits in the equation.
“It’s a no-excuse year. There are not many opportunities where we have a team this talented and this deep,” Braun said. “We need to try to blow teams out more this year. And that starts on the defensive end. When we play defense, we have shown we are the best team in the league.”
You would never know Braun is poised to cash in on a new deal. There is zero selfishness to his game, no holding back to prevent injury. Since high school, he has focused on being team-first over first-team. It has allowed him to play his role perfectly with the Nuggets.
He has gone from niche to necessity. And his coach believes he is ready for all of it.
“With CB, I really mean it, confidence is a skill. And shooting the ball is not just about repetition and the fundamentals; it’s about the belief that you can make shots. And he has taken a step in that direction. I think about Game 7 last year against the Clippers, the small little things like that stick in your mind as he gets better,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said Thursday.
“You draw on those experiences, and they show up in consistency every day, the normal games, not just the playoff games. Christian is just a step higher in belief, and it’s showing up.”
Braun has shown improvement in the preseason as a playmaker and shooter. The days of him needing layups and backdoor cuts to get going are long over.
Part of the beauty of Braun is that he does not need the ball to excel. One night, he will do more dirty jobs than Mike Rowe. The next, he is setting the tone with trash talk or a hard screen, providing that little bit of edge associated with great teams.
“He does things that don’t go on the stat sheet. Defensive plays. Cutting. Getting open. Helping get other guys open,” new backup center Jonas Valanciunas said. “The first unit, you have to have a lot of movement, it’s a high-passing starting five. He does it all well.”
And has anyone else noticed that Braun has become a leader? He refuses to consider himself a veteran, but in his fourth season, his maturity is obvious on the court and on the microphone as he speaks with clarity and accountability.
He is no longer the kid who replaced KCP. He is the reason the Nuggets are better off without him.
“I am never surprised by what he does,” Watson said. “He is a hard worker — a winner.”
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