"$25M used to be LeBron money" - NBA fans go wild as Nuggets hand Christian Braun massive $125 million contract extension

NBA fans reacted to the Denver Nuggets extending emerging young star Christian Braun for another five years. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the 24-year-old player signed a five-year, $125 million rookie extension with the team.

Denver drafted Braun at No 21 in the 2022 NBA draft. Since then, the young shooting guard has shown tremendous potential. Compared to his rookie season (4.7 points per game), Braun averaged 15.4 ppg in his breakout year in the last season.

However, for some fans, $125 million was too much even for Braun. Reacting to the news, a fan expressed the same sentiment.

"125 mil for a guy that averages 12 points cmon man."

Greedy | #EGE

@Greedyszn1

@ShamsCharania 125 mil for a guy that averages 12 points cmon man

One of the fans said that Denver could have signed Michael Porter Jr. with the same money, and called it "overpay."

"They could’ve had MPJ for that kind of money, but nah , they chose Braun, the bricklayer who thinks every 3-pointer is a wish. Massive overpay 😭🏀."

Dr. Anjani Jain

@DrAnjaniJJ

@ShamsCharania They could’ve had MPJ for that kind of money, but nah , they chose Braun, the bricklayer who thinks every 3-pointer is a wish. Massive overpay 😭🏀

However, one of the fans supported the team taking futuristic approach.

"This is huge for Nuggets. They’ve secured their 2nd best player behind [Nikola] Jokic for the next 5 yrs."

JBond

@jbondwagon

@ShamsCharania This is huge for Nuggets. They’ve secured their 2nd best player behind Jokic for the next 5 yrs

"25M used to be LeBron money 😭😭😭,"

Beastmode

@B3ASTM0DE5

@ShamsCharania 25M used to be LeBron money 😭😭😭

A fan said that Denver made a strategic decision.

"[Denver] front office playing chess: don’t wait for the market to hype your guy, lock him in before it does."

ɴɪᴇʟ (❖,❖)

@0X_Niel

@ShamsCharania Nuggets front office playing chess: don’t wait for the market to hype your guy, lock him in before it does.

A fan took a hilarious shot at Rudy Gobert.

"Good player good defender improving shooter and Rudy Goberts dad. W."

Relax

@RELAXasf

@ShamsCharania Good player good defender improving shooter and Rudy Goberts dad. W

"Nuggets locked into an eternal struggle of overpaying role players because no star players wanna come here lmao."

Master of None

@treytrey1011

@ShamsCharania Nuggets locked into an eternal struggle of overpaying role players because no star players wanna come here lmao.

Nikola Jokic opens about bypass extension with the Nuggets

There is only a few players in the league who truly seem untradable, and one of those superstars is Nikola Jokic. The 2023 NBA Finals MVP is under contract for 2026-27 and has a player option in 2027-28 season. Joker was up for an extension this offseason, but chose to bypass the offer.

Although it might suggest like the Nuggets superstar had some other plan in head, he clarified that he wanted to be committed to Denver for his entire NBA career.

"I mean, I don't think about it," he said according to The Athletic. "You know, I think those contracts (and) extensions come as a reward, as something that is natural to the sport, especially in today's NBA (and) how the salary cap is growing and everything. So, uh….my plan is to be Nuggets forever, so that's my answer. Nugget forever, or Nuggets."

Since the team fired both general manager Calvin Booth and head coach Mike Malone, they have been focused on keeping happy and keep core players around Jokic to keep him happy. Moreover, this offseason saw them adding an extra depth and young legs to keep him motivated.