How often do you see loyalty being rewarded in this age? Rare, but few value the emotions they build, and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic is one of them. “My plan is to be a Nugget forever.” These were the words of Jokic during Denver’s media day. Yes, he bypassed the opportunity to sign a four-year, $212 million deal because he can get a $293M deal next year. Jokic downplayed his decision, calling such deals “a reward … something that is natural” in today’s NBA. And that’s exactly where Christian Braun’s situation becomes so important and unique for the Nuggets.

“That has been my whole career. I have wanted to win in one spot,” Braun said in an interview with Sportskeeda, expressing his wish to stay long-term with the Nuggets. “I played with the same AAU team for seven years. I never switched up my AAU team. I was with my same high school coach my whole career and never switched high schools. I was at Kansas. I thought about leaving Kansas, but I couldn’t do it. I just wanted to be in the same spot,” he said. Braun played three seasons at Kansas from 2019 to 2022, where he appeared in 101 games with 74 starts and helped lead the Jayhawks to the 2022 NCAA National Championship.

Over his college career, he averaged 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 28.5 minutes per game, earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors twice. Braun has carried that same outlook now in the NBA. Drafted 21st overall by the Nuggets in 2022, Braun immediately became part of a team and contributed to Denver’s 2023 NBA title run. Since then, he has spent three full seasons with the Nuggets and wants the front office to consider him for the long term.

“You gain a relationship with those people and trust with those people. So that’s who I am as a person. We’ve won here [in 2023]. I know what it takes to win. I know what it takes to win with this group and with this organization.” His trajectory has been steady, from limited bench minutes in his rookie season to a sixth man role and finally a starter in 2024‑25, where he averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.9 minutes per game, shooting 58% from the field and 39.7% from three.

“I became really close with a lot of the guys around here. So being a Nugget means a lot to me. That’s part of who I am. I want to be in one spot. … I want to win as a Nugget. I don’t want to win anywhere else. Me winning as a Nugget means more than something somewhere else. Being grateful for the people here drives me to want to win in a Nuggets uniform.”

The Nuggets have a chance to get his rookie extension this month, and they should go all in. Braun embodies the next generation of Nuggets basketball, homegrown and built for the long haul. Especially now that we have Braun revealing his plans with the Nuggets.

At just 24, Braun is a proven contributor with three years in the organization and a championship under his belt. His loyalty aligns perfectly with Jokic’s own philosophy of staying in one place and building a legacy. So, despite all these signals, will the Nuggets give him a deal in hand?

Christian Braun’s extension looms as Nuggets face crucial contract decisions

If Denver fails to lock in with Christian Braun, it could send ripples across the roster. Jokic hasn’t taken the extension of $212 million immediate deal until 2026. Because if he signs that same 4-year extension deal next year, the value of the deal stands at $293 million, which is almost a 38% rise, amounting to approximately $80 million. That puts pressure because Braun’s words aren’t coming at random times.

Braun is eligible for a rookie extension, with the deadline to sign a new deal being October 20. Analysts, including Zach Lowe and Fred Katz, have projected that this extension could land in the range of $90-$110 million over four years, roughly $22-27 million per season. But will the Nuggets extend his contract?

Braun isn’t thinking much about that. In that same interview with Sportskeeda, Braun said, “I have no idea. But it’s not my job. My job is not to worry about that stuff, whether it’s contracts or anything that is going on in the front office. I’ll let other people handle that. I’ll just continue to put the work in and continue to prove myself to them, to whoever it is – the new staff, the new GMs, the new coaches.”

If Braun is to listen to the experts, he should get it done, or rather, safe to say he will take the offer. “I’m grateful for the opportunities that they give me, and I just need to prove myself. If I do that, I understand the rest will take care of itself. I also understand that if it doesn’t get done, winning takes care of that, too. My main priority is to get better as an individual and get better as a team and win. Ultimately, if we win, I know that I’ve got to be taken care of.” With too many extension decisions in the picture, the front office must act decisively to keep those who wish to stay, while performance remains a key indicator.