The biggest news of the day for the Denver Nuggets was thought to be star Nikola Jokic being named the highest rated player in NBA 2K25. As the day has gone on, all folks have been talking about is the jersey fiasco between Nuggets guard Christian Braun and new teammate Russell Westbrook.

NBA stars joining a new team usually get the jersey number they want, assuming it isn't retired or worn by another veteran on the team. That's why the rumors involving Westbrook and Braun are a bit surprising.

Christian Braun declines to give Russell Westbrook No. 0

Westbrook, who has worn the jersey number 0 in the NBA whenever possible, asked Braun if he could wear No. 0.

According to Denver Nuggets reporter Harrison Wind, Braun declined to give his No. 0 jersey to Russell Westbrook when asked about it.

“More uniform news: Hunter Tyson will wear #5 this season after giving #4 to Russell Westbrook. There was an inquiry by Westbrook into wearing #0, I’m told, but Christian Braun didn’t budge. Tyson gave Westbrook #4 free of charge.”

Instead, Wind reports that Hunter Tyson will switch to jersey No. 5, giving his old No. 4 jersey to the former All-Star guard instead.

Westbrook wore jersey No. 0 throughout his entire Oklahoma City Thunder tenure. He also wore 0 with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and LA Clippers. The one place in his professional career that Westbrook wasn't able to wear No. 0 was in Washington, when he spent a year with the Wizards. In the nation's capital, Westbrook donned the No. 4 jersey playing alongside Bradley Beal.

While it was never official, there were reports that the Wizards have quietly set aside jersey No. 0 for good since Gilbert Arenas wore it. Known as “Agent Zero,” Arenas' ended his tenure with the Wizards in ugly fashion, and the jersey has not been worn since.

Christian Braun, Russell Westbrook, or Julian Strawther at shooting guard?

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Christian Braun, who is entering his third year in the NBA, has had a couple of strong seasons for Denver. He's expected to be thrust into a much larger role this upcoming season with the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

In 82 games for the Nuggets last season, 78 of which came off the bench, Braun averaged 7.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on 46 percent shooting from the field and 38.4 percent from three. The Kansas guard recorded a career-high 25 points in 30 minutes off the bench during a November loss against the Pelicans last season. He also recorded 27 games of 10 or more points.

During NBA Summer League, head coach Michael Malone said the open shooting guard position is going to be a competition between Christian Braun and Julian Strawther.

“Well, obviously KCP, he's hell of a player, a big part of us winning a championship, a big part of our culture,” Nuggets coach Malone told NBA TV. “He will be missed and I love KCP. And now with him leaving, we have an open spot. We have Christian Braun, who as you mentioned helped us win a championship. He's won at every level he's been at. His energy, his toughness, all the intangibles are things that I love with Christian.

“And then I'll tell ya, I'm not giving that spot to anybody. It's gonna be a competition. I told Julian Strawther, “man like push each other. Let's see who's gonna win that spot.”

At the time, Russell Westbrook was not yet on the Nuggets roster, so it remains to be seen if his addition changes anything. It would, however, make a lot of sense to simply slide Braun into the starting lineup given they've been preparing him for the position since he was drafted.

The Denver Nuggets are set to tip of the 2024-25 regular season at home against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 24, 2024. After a few weeks of training camp, the Nuggets should be able to provide clarity on who won the starting shooting guard sweepstakes.