{
  "id": 3477329,
  "title": "Former Nuggets Points to Ex Teammate Christian Braun Getting the First 5 Nod as Start of Team’s Downfall",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/former-nuggets-points-to-ex-teammate-christian-braun-getting-the",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-26T09:26:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/former-nuggets-points-ex-teammate-092629697.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the aftermath of the Denver Nuggets' 2023 NBA championship victory, former teammate Michael Porter Jr. has suggested that a coaching decision involving Christian Braun might have been a contributing factor to the team's subsequent struggles. Despite Braun's undeniable talent, Porter Jr. contends that his utilization on the court may have been a misstep. \"Christian Braun is a really, really, really good player. When we won the chip, he was coming off the bench,\" Porter Jr. remarked on the Curious Mike show. The former Nuggets star further elaborated that Braun only started ten games in his initial two NBA seasons, but this improved to 77 games during the 2024-25 season. Porter Jr. believes that if Braun had been stationed as a bench player rather than a starting two spot, he could have been more effective. The Nuggets' 2023 championship core eventually began to disintegrate, with Michael Porter Jr. himself being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2025. Fellow Nuggets like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope followed suit, heading to the Memphis Grizzlies and subsequently the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nuggets now find themselves facing a challenging 2026-27 season after losing Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers.",
  "summary": "Christian Braun is just a role player for the Denver Nuggets, but according to his former teammate, a coaching decision centered around him may have been one of the reasons the Nuggets have struggled to go further in the playoffs. The Nuggets won the NBA championship in 2023 after ending the Miami Heat’s miraculous playoff [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}