Christian Braun’s role is more complex in his second NBA season, but he’s focused on keeping his game simple.

“Coming in as a rookie, my only job was to defend. My only job was to guard. Whether it was the best player or second-best player, my only job was to chase them around and make their life tough,” Braun said in the locker room after Denver’s 124-101 win over Brooklyn on Thursday at Ball Arena. “That was a win for me last year, if I could do that regardless of what I scored. I think that’s what is important is continue to be that and continue to do that every game. I got to get back to that, and I think I’ll play more.”

Following Bruce Brown’s offseason departure, the 22-year-old became Denver’s most established reserve. Braun started the season as Denver’s sixth man, but his minutes per game have decreased from 22.3 in four October games to 20.6 during a busy November. Through seven games in December, Braun’s averaging 17.2 minutes.

There’s more on his plate this season. Brown became Denver’s back-up point guard last season. That’s a role Braun has had to pick up for stretches this season. Jamal Murray’s hamstring and ankle injuries have held the starting point guard out of 14 of the Nuggets’ first 26 games. That’s moved Reggie Jackson in the starting lineup with Braun filling in for stretches.

“There’s times where I am really good on defense. There’s times when I can be better. That’s just a focus thing on defense, but I’m trying to balance scoring and doing those (other) things,” Braun said.

“It’s a new role, but … it’s early. I’ll continue to get better at it, but I think I need to get back to being who I was on defense. I think that will help me.”

The last time he played the point, he said, was during his high school days at Blue Valley Northwest in Kansas. That’s also when he believes he put down the most impressive dunk of his basketball career. In a Kansas All-Star game, Braun looked like an explosive point guard. He brought the ball down the court, beat his defender off the dribble with a hesitation move, cocked the ball back and threw down a one-handed dunk over the help defender. The best dunk of Braun’s NBA career came in the fourth quarter Thursday, and it was more reflective of his current role.

After Reggie Jackson tipped a pass, Braun scooped up the loose ball right in front of the Nets basket and started the break. He spun away from traffic, beat his best friend and former Kansas Jayhawk teammate, Jalen Wilson, into the front court. The Nuggets had a two-on-one with Armoni Brooks the lone defender. Julian Strawther thought Braun would toss him an alley-oop, but Braun called his own number, taking one dribble inside the 3-point line before leaping and dunking all over Brooks.

“I don’t even think he realizes how much bounce he has,” Peyton Watson said after his career night. “Sometimes, he’s just cruising, but when he goes and he takes off, like, it’s going to be hard to meet him up top. Watching that play from behind was just special.”

PSA: DO NOT JUMP WITH CHRISTIAN BRAUN pic.twitter.com/QRnvZMxTG0

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 15, 2023

Braun wasn’t as impressed with himself, but conceded it was the best finish of his short time as a professional.

“That’s probably the best dunk so far. I’ve had a couple of decent ones,” Braun said. “I haven’t had any crazy ones yet.”

That dunk helped the Nuggets’ sophomore shake a tough start offensively. He missed the only two shots, both layups, he took in the first three quarters. A pull-up 3 got him on the board in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but he missed his next two shots to start 1 of 5. After the highlight dunk, Braun capped his night with a three-point play and a layup. He finished with 10 points on as many shots with four rebounds, two assists and a couple of blocks in 24 minutes. His final bucket gave him consecutive games with 10 or more points for the first time in nearly a month.

The offensive success is welcomed, but Braun’s main concern comes on the other end of the court.

“I could do better. I think that there’s a lot of things that go into that, but I’m never going to be satisfied with how I’ve done,” Braun said, reviewing his start to the season as a whole. “I think in spurts I’ve been really good offensively, but I know that I can play better defensively. I think that I just got to do that more consistently. I have flashes, but I think that this year, I need to get back to being that defensive stopper that I have been in the past. If I’m that, then I’ll play more.”