Nuggets rookie joins Bill Russell, Magic Johnson in elite group following NBA title

Braun, who averaged 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 16.4 minutes per game across five games in the NBA Finals win over the Miami Heat, played three seasons for the University of Kansas, becoming a starter in his sophomore year. The guard was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team in 2020 and to the All-Big 12 second team in 2021, while helping the Jayhawks to the national title as a junior by earning a spot on the All-Big 12 Tournament team.

Braun was selected 21st overall by the Nuggets in the 2022 NBA Draft and tied for second on the team with his 76 games played (six starts) in the regular season, trailing only Bruce Brown. Braun recorded 4.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 15.5 minutes per contest in the regular season, while posting a .495/.354/.625 shooting line.

Russell became the first player to accomplish the rare back-to-back feat of college basketball and NBA titles, first capturing a championship with the University of San Francisco in both 1955 and 1956, before helping the Boston Celtics win their first NBA crown in 1957. Russell and the Celtics, ironically, defeated the St. Louis Hawks in that year's finals, nearly one year after St. Louis selected the big man with the No. 2 overall pick and subsequently traded him to Boston.

Henry Bibby capped off his career with UCLA in 1972 with his third consecutive NCAA title, being named to the Tournament All-Region team, before being selected in the fourth round of the 1972 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. The father of future Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby averaged just 4.2 points and 8.6 minutes per game as a rookie, but along with teammates like Walt Frazier, Phil Jackson and Willis Reed, helped the Knicks win their most recent championship in 1973.

Johnson capped off his stellar college career at Michigan State by leading the Spartans past Larry Bird and Indiana State in the 1979 NCAA title game before being picked first overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Draft. Johnson teamed up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and company to lead the Lakers to their seventh NBA championship in 1980.

Billy Thompson played four seasons at the University of Louisville, helping the Cardinals to their second NCAA title in 1986. He was selected 19th overall by the Atlanta Hawks that June but was immediately traded to the Lakers. He played in three postseason games in the team's 1987 run to the crown.