Christian Braun either doesn’t believe in the “respect your elders” expression or simply has too much confidence in his ability.
According to Harrison Wind of DNVR_Sports, Braun rejected Russell Westbrook’s request to wear the No. 0 jersey after the former MVP signed with the franchise as a free agent this offseason. Upon being rejected, Westbrook apparently requested to don the No. 4 jersey owned by Hunter Tyson, who agreed to hand over the number to the future Hall of Famer.
Wind noted that Braun “didn’t budge” when he shot down Westbrook’s request for the jersey number.
The “Brodie” wore the No. 0 jersey across his 11-year stint with the Thunder, his one-year stop in Houston and his near-two-year stint with the Lakers. However, he wore the No. 4 jersey during his only year with the Wizards during the 2020-21 campaign out of respect for the retired Gilbert Arenas.
Interestingly, Westbrook and Braun are expected to compete for one of the starting guard spots following the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who joined the Magic as a free agent. While Westbrook is expected to get the nod, coach Michael Malone has shown a lot of faith in Braun’s abilities over the past few seasons, giving the 23-year-old meaningful minutes in Denver’s deep postseason runs.
To Westbrook’s credit, he hasn’t let the jersey rejection curb his excitement for the forthcoming season, his 17th as a pro in the NBA. The athletic guard has been routinely seen at the Nuggets practice facility over the past few weeks even before the official start of training camp.
Westbrook was brought to Denver at the behest of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who reportedly admires the UCLA alum’s tenacity and ability to create easy points in the fast break. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Nuggets view Westbrook as someone who could inject “chaos” off the bench, a year after they struggled mightily with their second unit production.
