NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

May 27, 2023

Christian Braun

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. I think you guys practiced yesterday and obviously today. What is the emphasis when you guys still have no idea who you're facing?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, just keeping things tight. You know, everybody coming out, getting their work in, staying in their routine because you know we have so much time off.

Like you said, we don't know who to prepare for, but we are going to be ready for both, and just staying tight, getting shots up and making sure you're healthy, making sure you're in the gym, not staying out of the gym. So just keeping everything tight.

Q. Not sure if you're aware but you could be the fifth person ever to win an NCAA Championship and NBA title in back-to-back years. What's this been like for you now getting to compete for a championship in back-to-back years and how this stage compares to maybe what the Final Four was like last year?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, obviously this is what every player wants to do is compete at the highest level, and you know, winning is obviously more fun for everybody.

So just going from the situation in Kansas and winning a lot, and then winning my last year and then coming straight here and getting into the situation that, one, is a good fit, and two, then we get to win right away. I couldn't imagine a better spot to be.

And just the people around you, obviously I enjoy them and just this team, and so yeah, I'm blessed to have two years in a row playing at the highest level and winning at the highest level, and it's different. In the NCAA Tournament, it's one game. So, there's a lot of pressure on that one game, and here there's a lot of ups and downs.

You know, we have had series where we win two and we think we are up 2-0, it's a big lead, and then you go lose two on the road. It's completely different. But the same pressure, the same fun atmosphere, fun environment and the fans at both levels have been great. So, just blessed to have that opportunity to win at the highest level.

Q. You're obviously the youngster in this crew but more than one veteran player refers to you as a "winner." What do you think you've done to earn their trust and to show them that you're a component to winning?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, they don't ask too much of me. Obviously, I mean, they get that from what we did in college as a team. And then just having that on your resumé coming into this, they know that I wasn't coming in here trying to, you know, do too much or play outside of my role or play outside of myself.

They allowed me to be me, and I said that all year. Like Coach has allowed me to do what I do. My teammates, all the players have allowed me to be me, and it's just made the transition so much easier. I don't have to come in and try to do anything I'm not good at, and just thrive in the role that they put me in.

I think earlier they saw that when I was put in that position, I didn't try to do too much, and I just wanted to win. I wanted to make winning plays, and those energy effort plays. And I think that this team is a team when I got here that was like super talented, like the most talented team in the NBA probably, and we just needed pieces. We didn't need anybody to come in off the bench and try to do too much, try to shoot too much.

We just needed pieces that complement what we already have, and I think they saw that I was willing to do that, willing to play defense, and then obviously they taught me a lot over the course of the year. So I think that's probably how I earned their trust.

Q. You were a big star in college. Was that difficult to say, okay, I'm the defender?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: No, I don't think so at all. I think that I did similar things in college. Obviously, I scored more in the role, but it was similar my freshman year. I didn't have that same scoring role.

So you build those things up over time and this is really similar to -- I was on a good team my freshman year and I was more a piece to a really good team, and just making energy and effort plays in the time that I get, whether it's two minutes, five minutes, twenty minutes, just try to make an impact and make an impact on the team.

Q. Curious what the biggest thing you learned playing in your first Conference Finals was?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: The biggest thing I learned. I think the biggest takeaway from the Conference Finals itself, for me, like I just said was like whether you get two minutes or you get 20 minutes, you have to make an impact in those minutes, and there was times definitely I could have been better.

So, looking back on that, I have to be able to build on that and learn from different mistakes. You know you're going to make mistakes but the leash gets shorter in the playoffs. We are winning. We swept in the Conference Finals. So, there's nothing to be upset about or anything like that. You've just got to learn from it. You have two minutes, and then you have to make an impact in those two minutes and the team has to be better when you're on the court. So that's probably what I learned the most.

Q. What would you say you've learned or taken away from playing and working and traveling and being around Nikola?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Man, there's a lot. I think that everybody kind of talks about his routine. You know, he comes in and does the same exact routine every single day, the same shots, the same step-backs, the same fadeaways, the same free throw routine. He doesn't take any shortcuts. He's here early. He's here getting treatment.

So, his routine, his consistency with what he does is obviously the most impressive part, and I think that's why you see -- and he makes comments like that all the time. Like it's just no different than what he does every day. Like those shots that he hits, all the fadeaways, all the one-legged-behind-his-head shots that he's hitting, like he shoots these things every day. So, he's not surprised when they go in, and I think that consistency is what everybody wants to take away from him.

Q. You've seen him hit that shot that he hit over AD in the fourth quarter?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Well, I don't know about that exact shot, but I mean he hit one at home that was the exact same shot. Just I think it was on the other side.

I think he was shooting like a really good percentage on those fadeaways, like the last-second shot we beat Orlando early in the year on a step-back, similar shot. So, when the clock is going down, that's what he's good at, and he shoots the same exact shot every single time, and it goes in.

So just the consistency in what he does every day. Nobody is surprised when he hits them.

Q. What impact does it have on you guys as a team when he raises his voice and shares whatever basketball wisdom he has?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, I mean, obviously he knows the game better than anybody I've ever been around obviously and I think that everybody would say the same.

You know, him and Coach see eye-to-eye on a lot of things and they are on the same page, and that's probably built up over however many years they have been together.

So him, Jamal and Coach are on the same page. A lot of plays they draw up, I know Coach said in one of his postgame interviews that Nikola came over and took the board and we ran like the same five plays that him and Jamal drew up every time and scored on it.

So just the knowledge that he brings, and he's not a guy that wants to take over in the huddle. He listens to Coach and does what Coach wants him to, and when he sees things, he points them out and that goes for anybody on the team. I think Jamal sees things, he points them out, and everybody is on the same page. And that's just trust built up over, you know, however many years they have been together.

Q. And just to follow up on what you were talking about earlier, champion at Kansas, come here, have a chance to win another title. In as simple as you can say it, what's the secret sauce to winning?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: I've got good teammates. I've had really good coaches. Obviously, I went to Kansas, Coach Self was great. Come here and another great coach with Coach Malone.

Like I said, every system I've went into, whether it was AAU or it was up to the NBA, every system I've went into was a winning culture and was a team that demanded certain things of you.

So, I'm not going to sit here and say it was me coming in and changing anything. It was me coming in and adapting to what was already set up before I got there.

So, KU had a culture set up when I got there, and I was just really easily able to adapt to that, and I think I would say the same thing for here.

Like when I got drafted, I knew, hey, this team is the most talented team in the NBA, especially that starting five, and obviously we had Bruce who has been important as anybody.

There's no secret thing but just joining a culture and being able to adapt is how you get on the court doing that, and I think that's what I've been good at is adapting.

Q. To follow up on that, what have you noticed amongst winning teams that you see in this Denver Nuggets locker room and with this team?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, I think the trust that they have built up, like I said before I got here, and then adding pieces like Bruce and like me and guys that come in that are low maintenance. They listen to Coach and they trust what he's telling us. We come in and we drill the same fundamental things in practice all the time. Teams that struggle, they get old with those things, and Coach says all the time, I think he said the other day, "Don't get bored with success."

I think we have came in and we have drilled the fundamentals and listened to Coach and nobody tries to push back on what he says. It's a good balance between Coach listening to the players, like we said with Nikola, and us listening to Coach.

I think everyone is on the same page, and we have a lot of guys in that exact moment in their career, they want to win and this is their time to win, and I think that we had all the right pieces come together. And we are here. We have not done anything yet. Job is not even close to finished. We want to watch who wins this game and then finish the job.

Q. You were Calvin Booth's first draft pick as general manager. How much do you hear from him and curious what your relationship is like?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: He's been great, ever since Draft night. Like when he drafted me and he told me exactly what he needed from me and what he wanted to see from me.

You know, he doesn't chime in too much. Kind of lets me be me. That's another part of this whole organization, letting me be who I am, and I think ever since Draft night, he's told me what I wanted. He knew that I fit well with this team. Thought I was a perfect fit.

So, we've been on the same page with that, and like you said, I'm his first draft pick. So it's my job to do what I'm supposed to do and come in and contribute. I think I've done that for the most part. Like I said we are four games away from doing what we want to do. I don't think anybody in the locker room feels like we've accomplished what we want to accomplish yet.

So Mr. Booth has been a big part of my first year, and he just chimes in when he sees different things, but it's my job to make him look good, obviously.

Q. You touched on it a minute ago, but I wanted to ask you specifically, Bill Self can be really funny and really tough. Michael Malone can be really funny and really tough and I no he that's really broad-brushing the two of them, but do you see parallels between their styles? Are they as similar as some of us might think they are, or do you see it kind of a different way?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: They are similar for sure. Kind of like old school way teach things, the way they go about things. I like that. I think that's the coaching style I prefer. They will both tell you when you're wrong, but they will also tell you when you're doing things right.

So they are tough on you. They are funny. They like to joke around. They keep things light-hearted, but they really want to win. Those are two of the most competitive people I've been around since I started playing basketball.

Coach Self, that's all he's about and all he's done, and Coach Malone is the same way. You guys see Coach Malone get so frustrated because he wants to win so bad and that goes for everybody on the team. Everybody on the team is at the point of their career where we want to win. Like I always want to win.

But just coming off that championship, and having a chance to get another one, we are all in the same place and I think there's similarities with everybody's mindset. So Coach Self and him are similar but I think everybody is similar and like our competitiveness with this team.

Q. Going back to your championship experience with Kansas, what about this current run do you feel that has best prepared you for or you were expecting, or conversely, what has been most surprising about this one with contrast with that?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, I think there's a lot of differences. Like I said just with how the games are set up, and college is one-game elimination and this is obviously a series.

So there's a lot of differences. This you, you have to be more keyed in on personnel and with players' tendencies. In college, you're more set on sets and things like that. There's a lot of differences, but I think just being ready to win and we have guys that do what it takes to put ourselves in that position, and we've got talented guys.

There's definitely some similarities and differences, but it's all the same thing. Every time you go out there, we are just trying to win.

Q. Your NBA career is in its infancy at the moment and you come into a Denver Nuggets, an elite organization. Do you feel you're ahead of where you should be in terms of your own expectations in terms of your NBA career so far; that you're NBA Conference Finals champs in an NBA Finals. Do you think you're at the moment you're ahead of where you thought your NBA career would be?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: No, I think I'm pretty much right where I'm supposed to be. I got drafted to a perfect fit and this is where we all expected to be. I think I said this multiple times.

I told all my people this, when we won the Western Conference Finals, it felt good, but I mean, it didn't feel like -- we still haven't done what we wanted to do. Like I don't feel like I've accomplished the goal, and I want these next four games worse than anything.

This is kind of where I expected to be it the team I'm on and everybody in the locker room is on the same page with what they want and winning. So I think I'm right where I need to be, especially for this year, and obviously there's a lot of growth, and like I just said, I learned a lot from, especially last series.

But there's a lot of growth that I need to make, and right now, we are focused on winning and then in the offseason we'll focus on other individual things. But I think I'm right where I need to be and just want to get these four games really bad.