Kansas basketball: Christian Braun attends Jayhawks game vs. Wichita State to support brother and former school

The Kansas basketball team picked up a massive victory over Wichita State yesterday to round out nonconference play. It was the first time the in-state foes met since the 2015 NCAA Tournament when the Shockers upset the Jayhawks. This time, the contest was played on a neutral site in the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and a familiar face made his way over from about 600 miles away.

Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun came to watch his brother Parker and former college teammates play. He spent three years at the university, most notably making an All-Big 12 team appearance in the 2021-22 season and playing a sizeable role for the national championship-winning Jayhawks that same year.

Although he is in his second campaign in the NBA, he is the younger brother of Parker, who transferred to KU from Santa Clara in the offseason. The 6-foot-10 big man racked up four fouls in ten minutes played but blocked one shot and scored four points. One of his buckets was an alley-oop flush assisted by Christian's former teammate Dajuan Harris.

After the game, Christian approached his former coach, Bill Self, to chop it up. The Hall of Fame coach said in his postgame press conference that he has never seen anybody play as hard as KJ Adams. Braun and Adams were roommates for the 2021-22 season and have maintained their close friendship since.

Christian won an NBA Finals ring last year with the Nuggets, joining exclusive company by becoming the fifth player in league history to win an NBA and NCAA championship in consecutive seasons. He was also the 10th Kansas basketball alum to win at both levels of the game. Braun continues to play a vital role for Denver, averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 assists through 34 games on 46.5% shooting in 2023-24.