Christian Braun probably doesn’t have a second career as an agent awaiting him after he’s done playing basketball.
“Negotiations are kind of maybe not my thing,” he said Tuesday at Ball Arena, 24 hours after he signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension with the Nuggets. “Kind of felt like you’re kind of against them for a little bit. But I think it worked out really, really well. I was really, really happy with the outcome. I’m very grateful for everybody involved.”
Braun, 24, is suddenly under contract through 2031, longer than anyone on Denver’s roster as the 2025-26 season gets underway. The shooting guard signed his rookie extension hours before Monday’s deadline for 2022 first-round picks to do so. Denver wanted to prioritize a long-term deal in exchange for a slightly lower average annual value as the team faces salary cap obstacles in future years after the extension goes into effect, league sources told The Denver Post.
For now, Braun is making $4.9 million. This will be the last season of his rookie contract.
“I don’t think it bogged me down. I think it kind of motivated me a little bit,” he said when asked how negotiations affected his preseason mentally. “It was new to me. This is something I’ve never done before. You obviously worry about it. You’re concerned about it. I think my mom and dad kind of were more concerned for me. So I tried to tell them information as I knew it. … You never know what could happen, and it is a little stressful. Like I said, I don’t like the negotiations just because you feel like you’re against people you love and people you care about.
“But I’m just really excited for the way it went down and just really happy that it’s over with.”
Braun heard plenty of jokes and comments from his teammates about the potential extension in recent weeks. Meanwhile, he shot 77.3% from the floor in preseason play, including a 7-for-9 mark from the 3-point line. He described the contract as “validation” and shared that he’s relieved he can go into the new season, which begins Thursday for the Nuggets, with a clear mind.
Last season, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, making him a candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in his first year as a starter. Now he’s entering his fourth season in the league with a place in Denver’s core around Nikola Jokic secured.
“That guy deserves every dollar he’s getting,” coach David Adelman said. “… It’s good to see somebody that gets it not just off talent but off work. I think that goes a long way. In our league, sometimes you’re guessing at what could happen down the road, and you’re paying for that. This has been earned every step of the way. The fans, everyone’s seen it. You’ve seen the growth, the confidence. … It’s a proud day for us.”
Braun is a developmental success story for Denver. He was drafted 21st overall out of Kansas and contributed off the bench his rookie season as the Nuggets won their first championship. Then Bruce Brown left in free agency, and Braun was asked to take on increased responsibility as the team’s sixth man. A year later, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope moved on as well, and Braun replaced him in the starting lineup.
Now he’s cemented himself as a high-quality complementary player next to Jokic, and he’s about to be the fifth-highest paid player in his draft class, behind Paolo Banchero (the No. 1 overall pick), Chet Holmgren (No. 2), Keegan Murray (No. 4) and Jalen Williams (No. 11). “They grow up so fast,” Jamal Murray quipped on Tuesday.
Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels also signed his extension Monday for an average annual value of $25 million, but his deal only spans four years.
Braun said that he was keeping an eye on those other rookie extensions, which can set the market for certain archetypes of players.
“I try to keep up with all that stuff. And you see it on social media,” he said. “It’s really cool just to be a part of this. … I think that there’s a lot of players that got rewarded and a lot of players that were worthy of it that are gonna have a big year, and I’m excited for those guys, too,” he said. “So it’s something I paid attention to, but I think everybody kind of has their own race.”
Ultimately, though, Braun’s priority through all the number-nitpicking negotiations was to stay in Denver.
“I got drafted here,” he said. “I never changed schools or teams in high school. I never changed in college. And I don’t want to change (teams) in the NBA. I want to be here. I want to be a big part of winning. I want to be a really big part of what happens here and the success that happens in Denver. I want to be a big part of the community. I want to be around these guys.”
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Originally Published: October 21, 2025 at 1:16 PM MDT
