Author: Monojit Mandal
The Denver Nuggets recently took a crucial step to secure their young prospect, Christian Braun, for the coming seasons. The Nuggets have activated the third-year option on Braun’s rookie contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, a reliable ESPN source.
As part of this deal, Braun, a 22-year-old rising star, would earn around US$3 million in the 2024-25 season. In addition, the Nuggets have a fourth-year option for the team in 2025-26, which could pay Braun $4.9 million, according to Spotrac statistics.
During his first season, Braun established himself as a useful player, averaging 4.7 points in 15.5 minutes per game in 76 regular season games, including six starts. His excellent shooting statistics include a 49.5% field goal percentage and a 35.4% three-point shooting accuracy.
Braun’s greatest achievement came during the NBA Finals, when he scored an average of 5.8 points per game. His best effort came in Game 3, when he came off the bench and scored 15 points. Remarkably, this amazing feat came alongside historic triple-doubles of 30 points from Nikola Joki and Jamal Murray, marking the first time in NBA history that two teammates had achieved such a feat in the same game.
The Denver Nuggets won the NBA title in five meetings against the Miami Heat, and Braun played an average of 16.2 minutes per game during the series. This indicated that Braun was ready to take on a more important position in the team. His calm demeanor during the series was not surprising, given his previous success as a member of the Kansas Jayhawks, who won the national title in 2021-22.
Braun is expected to take over as the Nuggets’ sixth man in the future. That position was previously held by Bruce Brown, who just signed a two-year, $45 million contract with the Indiana Pacers. Calvin Booth, the Nuggets’ general manager, emphasized the comparison between Braun and Brown, pointing out that Braun would bring comparable attributes to the squad, but with a concentration on off-the-ball tasks.
Braun’s hard work and dedication were recognized by coach Michael Malone, who praised Braun’s performance over the summer. Malone praised Braun’s development of confidence, experience and enormous effect during the NBA playoffs and finals, which is unusual for a rookie. Due to Braun’s enormous potential and demonstrated contributions to the club, the decision to grant his third-year option was unanimously approved.