During the Denver Nuggets' run to an eventual victory in the NBA Finals in 2023, a major key to their success in the Finals was the play from rookie guard Christian Braun. After leading the Kansas Jayhawks to a National Championship in 2022, he turned around and made an immediate impact in his rookie year.

Flash forward to now, and the 2025-26 season has been the toughest of Braun's NBA career. In his fourth season in the NBA, Braun has battled injuries throughout the year and hasn't played that well when he's been on the court. While it wasn't a win, Braun returned to the court on Tuesday night on the road against the Detroit Pistons.

In his first three seasons, Braun appeared in 76 or more games in each year, consistently being on the court, and leading to him earning a spot in the starting lineup by his third season. Therefore, having two injury absences over 10 games each this season isn't something he's been used to.

"It sucks. I think that it's new for me, something I haven't been through. So, I think I've learned a lot...It's new, it's been tough, so I'm happy to be back," Braun said.

While Braun was sidelined, he watched several of his teammates step up in his place, such as Peyton Watson, who will force David Adelman and Denver's coaching staff to make a tough decision on whether to bench him or not once the starters are all healthy.

"Sitting out, just being away," Braun said of the biggest challenge in this injury process. "Like I said, I've never done that. It's my first true first injury of my career where I've missed more than like one or two games. I haven't really missed practices that often. So, just being from the team, being away from the guys, it's tough for me."

He also added that it has been the first real adversity he's faced on the basketball court, which is something he thinks he can turn into a positive.

Braun's 2024-25 season was stellar, averaging 15.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game with a 58.0% field goal percentage and shooting 39.7% from three-point range. It might be a lot to ask for Braun to return to that form after what has happened this season, but if he can get close to that, Denver might be the best in the West.

The Nuggets will have a challenge ahead of them on Wednesday night, traveling to New York to face a Knicks team riding a seven-game winning streak.