MINNEAPOLIS — In order to be the Anti-Ant, Christian Braun knows he can’t flinch at Ant’s antics.
This is a matchup that requires embracing, even relishing, the opponent’s fondness for talking trash. It’s a matchup that demands a willingness to guard on an island, where defensive errors are more exposed. It’s a matchup that rewards intensity and audacity.
Braun has nowhere near the name recognition or star power of Anthony Edwards. But he possesses the confidence to believe his defense and Edwards’ offense can be equals. As he told The Denver Post this summer, alluding to the second round of the 2024 playoffs, “In that last series, I think everybody saw what I was capable of.”
The Nuggets know there is no escaping the Timberwolves. They expect this to be a constant division battle far beyond Friday night’s showdown, the first rematch since Denver’s Game 7 collapse. And Braun knows there is no escaping Edwards, the 23-year-old supernova whose rise has accelerated Minnesota’s.
“He’s competitive. I’m competitive. We’ve seen each other a lot,” said Braun, who is also 23 and has been entrusted this season as Denver’s lead defensive guard — the answer to Edwards, perhaps for the foreseeable future. “We’ve had a lot of possessions against each other. I’ve gotten my stops. He’s gotten his buckets. So I understand he’s a guy I’m gonna guard a lot. I really enjoy his game. I love watching him. I enjoy playing against him. He’s one of the most fun players to play against in the league, just because he’s so competitive. It’s a good, competitive balance with him.”
Don’t get Braun wrong: He doesn’t like the Timberwolves. He said so in the locker room after that Game 7 when the Nuggets blew a 20-point lead in the second half. He asserted that Denver and Minnesota were officially rivals that night. “I just said that again, actually,” Braun told The Post on Friday at Target Center, referencing another interview he had just completed. He believes the assessment still holds true, even after Minnesota made an identity-shifting roster move this preseason, trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
“We play each other a lot. They’re obviously going to be a top contender in the West for a long time,” Braun said. “They’ve got one of the best players in the NBA. He’s still there. There’s a lot of guys that are still there. That rivalry feeling is (still there) for all those teams at the top. OKC, whoever it is, we want that to be that rivalry feeling. You want to get up for those games. And this is a team we’re gonna have to get up for pretty often.”
Still, despite that label, his respect for Edwards shines through. The All-NBA guard entered the league in 2020 as the No. 1 overall pick from Atlanta. Braun arrived two years later as the 21st pick. One of his high school teammates and eventual roommates in Denver, Mike Peake, was Edwards’ teammate during his only season of college basketball at Georgia. “My best friend played with him, so we’ve had a couple of conversations,” Braun said.
Edwards was one of the five highest-frequency isolation players in the NBA entering Friday night. He also led the league in 3-point attempts, averaging 13.3 per game. He was making 41.5% of them.
Braun wasn’t Denver’s primary defender against Edwards last season, but in 26 minutes during the seven-game series, he held Edwards to a 4-for-12 shooting clip, according to the league’s matchup data. Those reps gave the Nuggets extra confidence in Braun’s potential as a successor to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who ended up signing with Orlando in free agency. In a weird way, a series that left scars on Denver also boosted Braun.
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He sought out video of Game 7 during the offseason. He didn’t watch it all the way through, but he needed an explanation of how the Nuggets wilted in the second half. So, just the painful parts. “You don’t really understand what’s exactly happening and how they’re coming back until you rewatch it,” as he put it.
After all, from the perspective of a young starter like Braun, the Nuggets are going to be dealing with Minnesota and Edwards for years.
“I’ve seen the Rudy Gobert turnaround many times,” he said. “So I try not to think about it too much. But they got us. We got them the year before that. It’s a good team we’re gonna play a lot. They’re gonna get some. We’re gonna get some. But hopefully, we get more.”