BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Denver Nuggets have landed a national champion in the 2022 NBA draft.
Christian Braun, a 6-foot-7 guard from the University of Kansas, was selected by Denver in the first round of the draft on Thursday night with the No. 21 overall pick.
Braun played in 40 games for the Jayhawks this past season as a junior, starting all but one of them. He averaged 14.1 points, 6.53 rebounds and 34 minutes per game.
"Man, it feels great," Braun said in an interview during the broadcast of the draft. "I'm just grateful for the support, coach (Bill) Self being here, and just all of my people that are here. I'm just grateful for all of those people, and it feels great."
Braun joins a Nuggets team that went 48-34 in the regular season in 2021-22, making the NBA playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference before being eliminated by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors.
Peyton Watson, UCLA, No. 30 overall
With their second pick in the first round, the Nuggets selected Peyton Watson -- a 6-foot-8 guard out of UCLA at No. 30 overall.
The pick was technically made by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who sent the pick to Denver in a trade involving JaMychal Green last week.
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