Joshua Braun

Joshua David Braun (born July 7, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Geraldton Buccaneers of the NBL1 West.

He played four years of college basketball for the Grand Canyon Antelopes, where he finished as the school's second all-time leading scorer and set the record for most career 3-pointers made.

He was also a two-time first-team All-WAC honoree.

As a freshman in 2009–10, he helped the school win its first state championship while averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

He put Boulder Creek's program on the map when he blocked a potential-game winning layup in the last second of the state championship game.

As a sophomore in 2010–11, he averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game en route to being named player of the year in the Northwest Region.

As a junior in 2011–12, he averaged 18.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

For his senior year of high school, Braun transferred to Westwind Preparatory Academy in Phoenix.

The transfer to Westwind would provide much-needed increased exposure to recruiters since the school traveled the country playing top high school programs.

However, during the summer in an AAU game, he tore the ACL in his right knee.

An intense rehab regimen got him ready for the 2012–13 season, where he averaged 9.7 points for Westwind.

In the spring, he tore the ACL in his other knee.

Coming off two knee injuries to finish his high school career, Braun was left with just two college offers, one of them from Drake University.

However, before he could take the offer from Drake, the school fired the entire coaching staff.

He later inquired at Grand Canyon University (GCU), despite the fact that the school was a Division II program at the time.

GCU were interested in him, but before he could commit, once again the coaching staff was let go.

The incoming coaching staff at GCU led by head coach Dan Majerle still had interest in Braun.

Majerle was hired to navigate GCU through a four-year Division I transition, and on May 1, 2013, Braun became Majerle's first signing.

However, Braun spent his first year at GCU as a redshirt after suffering a torn meniscus in one of his surgically repaired knees while practicing with the team in the lead-up to the 2013–14 season.

Throughout the two-year ordeal, Braun ended up having four knee surgeries.

Braun made his debut for the Antelopes in the 2014–15 season and played power forward on a team that lacked rebounders.

After playing sparingly over the first six games, an injury to a teammate saw Braun record 21 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes on November 29 against Central Michigan.

He posted a season-high 25 points against Texas Pan-American on January 24 and had a season-high 10 rebounds against Kansas City on January 29.

He appeared in all 32 games with 26 starts, as he averaged 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

He led the Antelopes in points scored (379) and 3-point percentage (.381), while finishing eighth highest in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for field goal percentage (.460) and sixth in 3-point percentage.

He subsequently earned WAC All-Newcomer Team honors.

As a sophomore in 2015–16, Braun moved to guard and started 33 of 34 games while averaging 16.6 points and a career-high 5.2 rebounds.

He earned first-team All-WAC honors and led the league in both 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.

He was honored as the WAC Player of the Week for the week of January 4–10 after recording 23 points and 11 rebounds on January 9 against New Mexico State.

He scored 30 or more points three times, including a career-high 34 points on January 16 against Utah Valley.

Braun came into his junior year having undergone knee and ankle surgery during the off-season.

He entered the regular season as the Preseason WAC Player of the Year.

On November 28, 2016, a painful knee limited him to 10 minutes and no points against SIU Edwardsville.

He subsequently missed nine games and the entire month of December after undergoing further knee surgery.

He led the WAC in 3-pointers made, and in 22 games in 2016–17, he averaged 17.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

In his first game back on January 7, 2017, Braun scored a season-high 31 points (including a career-high 21 points in the first half) and made a career-high seven 3-pointers in an 82–72 win over Utah Valley.

He earned WAC Player of the Week for the week of February 20–26 after averaging 28.5 points in wins over Chicago State and Kansas City.

He made his professional debut in 2019 in Australia with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns of the State Basketball League (SBL), where he was named the SBL Most Valuable Player.

He then played two seasons in Germany wth Eisbären Bremerhaven of the ProA between 2019 and 2021.

Born and raised in Anthem, Arizona, Braun attended Boulder Creek High School and played three seasons for the school's basketball team.