Billy Thompson didn't fill the league's history books. Except for a feat never seen before: a university championship title in 1986 with Louisville, followed by two NBA titles with the Lakers (1987 and 1988, when he had hardly played the second year) . Titled with Kansas in 2022, then with the Nuggets the following year, Christian Braun could have become the second player in history to achieve such a sequence.
Unfortunately for him and the Nuggets, they ran into a bone: the Wolves. The taste of defeat, after two years without losing? “ It's not a feeling you want to feel. I haven't felt this in a long time “, delivers the replacement who has gained a little more depth on Mike Malone's bench this season.
The player, drafted in the 21st position in 2022, says he does not “ Never again » want to have such a taste in your mouth. “ We're going to work all summer so we don't have to feel like this anymore “, he promises.
A Game 7 that goes badly
His great epic still allowed him to become the fifth player in history to achieve a back-to-back in the NCAA then NBA, after Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Billy Thompson and Henry Bibby.
“ It's a shame, but I think we're the better team. They beat us fair and square. But I would say that we had such an opportunity to do the 'back-to-back'. We don't often have the opportunity to do this. It hurts, but that's what we need, to feel it », continues the Kansas native who found “ inexcusable » this defeat, due to the comeback suffered.
Christian Braun repeats that he considers that the Nuggets had the best NBA team, and says he is proud of his teammates, of their fight to keep their trophy. On a personal level, he says he wants to progress in several sectors. “ We will have a little more time in the offseason to devote ourselves to it. It's not what I wanted, but it's reality. I'll be back », Finishes the guard, who averaged 5 points in the playoffs.
| Christian Braun | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | DEN | 76 | 16 | 49.5 | 35.4 | 62.5 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.7 |
| 2023-24 | DEN | 82 | 20 | 46.0 | 38.4 | 69.4 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 7.3 |
| Total | 158 | 18 | 47.3 | 37.3 | 67.2 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 6.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
