Beloved Former Kansas Star Erupts for Playoff Career High in Win

While three former Kansas Jayhawks are technically on NBA playoff rosters right now — Johnny Furphy and Kevin McCullar are riding the bench for their respective Eastern Conference squads — Christian Braun is the only big-time contributor left representing KU in the postseason.

After winning a national title at Kansas in 2022, Braun followed that up with an NBA Finals ring as a rookie in 2023.

And the KU fan favorite could bring in more hardware this season.

In a must-win home game for the Denver Nuggets against the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder, Braun helped his team keep its season alive with a 119-107 victory to force a win-or-go-home Game 7.

Braun was unstoppable Thursday night, finishing with a career-high in playoff points.

He played 39 minutes and poured in 23 points, grabbing 11 rebounds to give him his third-ever playoff double-double. Braun added five assists, three steals, and connected on 3-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc.

The former Jayhawk previously set his career high in the Game 7 win over the Los Angeles Clippers last series, where he scored 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting.

Coming off the best regular season of his young career, Braun was an all-around star in Game 6, pushing in transition and being active on the defensive end.

Thanks to Braun, three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, and Jamal Murray, Denver lives on to see another day to potentially play a rematch from last year against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Nuggets and Thunder will face off in a do-or-die contest on Sunday in the Paycom Center.