2022 NBA Draft Breakdown - Christian Braun
A Jack-of-all-trades forward with a winning mentality.
After covering Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr. in the previous breakdown, I figured I would move on to the second of three very similar players in this draft class in Kansas’s Christian Braun, with the other being Wake Forest’s Jake LaRavia. All of those three players are uber-athletic ball-handling wings that can play defense. Braun is a high-flying athlete that plays above the rim and gets out in transition with ease.
Like some of the other players I’ve covered thus far, Braun is able to turn his strong defense into offense, practically running the open floor. Playing in his junior season for the championship-winning Jayhawks, Braun averaged 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 stocks per game while shooting a 49.5/38.6/73.3 split. Nearly five points of that average came on fast-break and transition scores.
Like Moore, Braun is a fearless defender that leans in and guards with his chest, using quick hands to generate steals and get out into his strong spots offensively. Several scouts I’ve heard from rave about how much Braun and Arizona wing Dalen Terry are the most competitive players in the class and how much they turn defense into offense.
Despite having a negative height-to-wingspan ratio, Braun is exceptional at one-on-one defense and is stellar at contesting jump shots. As we’re seeing in the NBA playoffs this year, players are still biting on pump fakes and fouling jump shooters. Braun is cut from a different cloth in that regard and he rarely fouls jump shooters, playing with a balance that gives him the ability to recover with ease. On top of all of that, Braun is just tenacious. The Kansas product always gives an extra effort and that makes him especially annoying to play in isolation against. Braun is impossible to shake and on so many possessions, he defensively takes a guy out onto an island and/or forces him into a broken drive.
Outside of being a smart defender, Braun has the athletic tools to keep up with quicker defenders. Braun has lateral quickness, sliding opposing players into the baseline. resulting in less-than-desirable jumpers.
On offense, Braun is underrated and has untapped potential. Like Jalen Williams, Braun shot over 40% on catch-and-shoot attempts from three this past year and his 73.3% free-throw percentage indicates a decent stroke. This isn’t to say that Braun is a talented shot-creator, he is too slow for that, but he does have offensive utility in that regard, and being able to develop offensive speed would be a nightmare for opposing defenders. Also like Williams, going under on screens against Braun is a bad idea because he will launch from wherever if you give him the space to.
The open floor isn’t the only spot that Braun flourishes in though, as he is able to get to his spots in the halfcourt and is a great closer around the rim, converting on 55% of his two-pointers this last season. Braun is also a good cut guy and can play either part of the pick and roll, but has room to grow as a pick setter. Braun registered a 40-inch vertical at the NBA Combine and, as stated, gets to the rim and makes shocking finish after shocking finish.
Speaking of that, Braun is a talented passer, boasting a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. Braun is good at finding players in their spots and is especially solid at throwing lobs.
Braun still has some tangible improvement areas, such as working on his frame and adding bulk so that he can continue to play with stronger opposing players. Braun also needs to work on creating his own shot, but both of these routes for improvement are easy to obtain.
In all, Braun is the kind of guy that would work best as a late first-round pick to a contender. At 21 years old and with the tools he already has in tow, Braun is a guy that is ready for rotation minutes now. I love his fit on a team like the Miami Heat or the Philadelphia 76ers as a guy that can give them the defense and three-point shot-making both need as well as a bit of playmaking to take the weight off guys like Kyle Lowry and James Harden. One thing is for certain though, Christian Braun has that dog in him.