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Kansas’s Christian Braun becomes 5th player to win an NCAA title and an NBA title in back-to-back seasons

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By ADAM ZAGORIA

Christian Braun made history on Tuesday night — and his former coach Bill Self was in the house to see it.

Braun became just the fifth player to win an NCAA title and an NBA championship in back-to-back seasons, joining Bill Russell (1956 San Francisco; 1957 Boston Celtics), Henry Bibby (1972 UCLA; 1973 New York Knicks), Magic Johnson (1979 Michigan State, 1980 L.A. Lakers) and Billy Thompson (1986 Louisville; 1987 L.A. Lakers).

Braun also won three state championships in high school, meaning he has won five championships in seven years. He also won a Peach Jam title with MoKan Elite.

Self was in the building in Denver after recruiting at the USA Basketball U19 training camp with his staff earlier Monday. Self was in Colorado Springs recruiting Tre Johnson, Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley and Derik Queen.

A rookie in 2022-23, Braun was the No. 21 selection in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Nuggets. In his first season, Braun played in 76 regular-season games, starting six for top-seeded Denver. He averaged 15.5 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and shot 49.5 percent form the field, including 35.4 percent from three-point range during the regular season. Braun played 19 playoff games and averaged 13.0 minutes, 3.2 points, 2.1 rebounds with a 53.3 field goal percentage. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Braun finished 7-8 from the field for 15 points in 19 minutes of action as the Nuggets won 109-94 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Braun played three seasons at Kansas from 2019-20 to 2021-22. In 2020, the Burlington, Kansas, native was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and he was a 2021 all-conference honorable mention selection the following season. In Kansas’ 2022 NCAA National Championship season, Braun averaged 14.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

With the addition of Braun, there have been 15 Jayhawks who have won 20 NBA titles during their professional careers. Braun becomes the seventh Jayhawk under head coach Self to win an NBA title. He joins Wayne Simien (2006), Mario Chalmers (2012, 2013), Brandon Rush (2015), Sasha Kaun (2016), Markieff Morris (2020) and Andrew Wiggins (2022).

Braun is the fifth Kansas player to have won both an NCAA and NBA title and the fourth under Self. He joins Lovellette (1952 NCAA title) and Chalmers, Rush and Kaun, who were members of the 2008 NCAA National Championship team.

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