Nikola Jokic Praises Nuggets’ Christian Braun For Huge Game 3 vs. Heat

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic praised rookie Christian Braun after the team won Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.

“I mean, I told him, you won us the game,” Jokic said of Braun. “Like you said, he’s a winner, and he won us the game, with energy, just the focus, the mindset. Even when he make a mistake, it’s an aggressive mistake, so you cannot be mad at him. I always say that. He won us the game, and he was really good tonight.”

Braun finished with 15 points and four rebounds in Game 3 off the bench while shooting 7-of-8 from the field and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. The Kansas product had a plus-minus of +2 as the Nuggets won by a final score of 109-94.

“Those guys make it really easy. Playing with those guys, they make the right play every time. My job is just to be ready when my name is called,” Braun said. “Playing with Nikola, playing with Jamal, whoever it is, just got to be ready for the ball, and today found me in some pretty easy spots. Just staying ready, and it’s the NBA Finals, so if your name is called, you know you’ve got to be ready.

“The guys trusted me all year, so when I get in the game, I just try to defend and do the little things, obviously make it easier on me. Like I said, my job is not very hard. I’ve just got to come in, play with energy. And they find me on the right spots on offense and the defense just gives effort. So those guys have trusted me all year and put me in the right spots and my job is to deliver.”

Braun helped Kansas win the NCAA championship last year. Now, he’s two wins away from winning an NBA title.