KANSAS

Beloved Former Kansas Star Erupts for Playoff Career High in Win

Jayhawks legend Christian Braun was a man on a mission in the Denver Nuggets' series-extending victory over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
Joshua Schulman|
May 3, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) celebrates the win over the LA Clippers following game seven of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
May 3, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) celebrates the win over the LA Clippers following game seven of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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Denver NuggetsKansas Jayhawks

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.

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Joshua Schulman
JOSHUA SCHULMAN

A longtime Kansas basketball and football fan, Josh is at The College of New Jersey majoring in Communications and minoring in Journalism. Josh has over 1,000 published articles on KU athletics on FanSided's Through the Phog, with additional work at Pro Football Network and Last Word on Sports. In his free time, Josh often broadcasts TCNJ football games on WTSR 91.3FM.

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