According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Denver Nuggets and Christian Braun agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract extension on Monday. The Braun extension gives Denver reliable depth for years to come. It comes with some risk, but Braun has continued to improve and is ready to begin this next chapter with the team. After the deal was reported, the Nuggets' X (formerly Twitter) account posted a video of Braun sharing a message for the fans.
"What's up Nuggets nation," Braun said in the video. "Christian Braun here. I'm really excited that we got the deal done. I'm excited and looking forward to playing winning basketball. Obviously this is the place I want to be. You know I wouldn't want to win anywhere else... I'm excited to be a Nugget, excited to get the season started, I'm excited to focus on winning. So, let's do it."
It's a big extension for Braun. Denver is looking to build a winner once again around Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. With players such as Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson also on the roster, Denver is in a good spot. The team understands the importance of depth, though, which is surely why they made the decision to sign Braun to a long-term deal.
Braun, 24, is set to enter his fourth season in the league. After two seasons of coming off the bench, Braun landed a starting role last season and made the most of the opportunity. The guard averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per outing. He also shot 58 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from beyond the arc across 79 total games played (77 starts).
Braun is a terrific player to have on a Nikola Jokic-led squad. Jokic, of course, is probably the best passing big man in the NBA. In fact, he's arguably the best passer in the league. Having a guy like Braun who can find the bottom of the net on the catch-and-shoot is pivotal as a result. He attempted a career-high 2.8 three-point shots a season ago, and it would not be surprising to see Braun increase his long-range attempts once again this year.
Denver has lofty expectations for the 2025-26 campaign. The Nuggets fell short of their championship goal last year and made changes as a result. The Western Conference is deep, but this Nuggets team should be in a position to make a competitive run. One has to imagine that both Christian Braun and the Nuggets are happy to place their focus strictly on basketball once again after agreeing to a contract extension days before the regular season.
Denver's first regular season contest is scheduled for 10 PM EST on Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors.