DENVER, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 29: Christian Braun of the Denver Nuggets fields questions during Media Day at Ball Arena on September 29, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
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On Monday, Christian Braun inked a five year, 125 million dollar rookie extension that will keep him under contract with the Denver Nuggets through the 2030-31 NBA Season.
The Denver Nuggets Negotiate A Great Deal With Christian Braun
Since being drafted by the Nuggets with the 21st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Braun has been everything that the team could hope for. Braun has done exactly what you hope every young player does – improved in every single season, as evidenced by looking at his DARKO DPM progression chart.
Christian Braun Career DARKO DPM Progression Chart.
DARKO.
But more than that, the 24-year-old is battle tested. Braun already has a national title and NBA Championship under his belt – playing an integral role for his teams in both instances. Last season, Braun averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 39.7% 3-point shooting per game over 79 contests (77 starts). He also started all 14 playoff games for the Nuggets – averaging 12.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 0.7 BPG in 38.9 minutes of action per contest. His on-off plus-minus (+24.1 per 100 possessions) ranked third on the team, behind only Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon (per Basketball Reference).
From an on-court perspective, Braun’s slashing and athleticism will continue to amplify Nikola Jokic’s prodigious passing powers and his defensive tenacity will help mask The Joker’s vertical limitations. But the NBA is more than just the product we see on the basketball court. It’s also a game of pennies and dollars. To the casual observer, 125 million dollars may sound a bit pricey for someone who has never come close to averaging 20 PPG. But when you really dig into the numbers, this deal is like the conclusion of many of his cuts to the rim – a slam dunk.
According to my formula for estimating player production (which you can learn more about here), Braun will be worth roughly 39.8 million dollars to the Nuggets in 2026-27 if he plays at the level he did in 2024-25. That is nearly double what he is projected to make under his new extension (21.6 million, per Spotrac).
Looking at the other rookie extensions that have been signed this offseason, Braun is making half as much as Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams, which makes sense given their All-Star/All-NBA caliber ceilings. But he’s also getting a little less than Keegan Murray (five years, $140 million), who – while still an intriguing prospect in his own right – has not proved nearly as much as Braun has to this point. Braun’s contract is most comparable to the one Jabari Smith Jr. got (five years, $122 million), who, again, does not have the pedigree that he has up to this point.
With Murray, Gordon, and Jokic all on the books for the foreseeable future, Denver is going to be an expensive team for the rest of the decade. So, signing Braun to a cost-efficient contract like this one goes a long way toward making this team sustainable long-term.