Christian Braun had an underwhelming 2025-26 season, and while much of the was due to the injuries that he suffered that kept him off the court, but now the Denver Nuggets can look forward to him on the team for the next half-decade and it will come at a heavy cost.

Starting in the 2026-27 season, Braun will start on a five-year, $125 million contract as part of a rookie contract extension that he signed in October 2025.

That contract makes him higher paid than players like Naz Reid, Tyler Herro and Jaren Jackson Jr., just to name a few, and it's Braun's contract that limits the Nuggets' financial flexibility in the offseason and may be part of the reason that Denver ownership has expressed so much interest in "running it back."

Braun has been a dependable player in his career and experienced career-highs in scoring and rebounding during the 2024-25 season when he was elevated to the starting lineup for the first time in his career, but it's still an expensive contract and if Braun doesn't elevate his game, it runs the risk of becoming a huge overpay. 

During the time he was on the court, 44 games, Braun experienced a regression to 12 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, though his assists elevated slightly. The Nuggets simply can't afford to pay for production like from their starting shooting guard at all, let alone a guard making $25 million per year. 

To come close to justifying his contract, the first issue for Braun is staying healthy. Playing just over half the season is not an optimistic sign for what his future can be and the fact that those injuries were to his calves and ankles is especially worrying. 

Beyond maintaining his health, though, Braun needs to become a far more impactful scorer, somewhere near the 18 point per game range if not higher. As talented as Jamal Murray is, he cannot carry the load of the back court alone and Braun's purpose in the Nuggets' scheme is to be far more of a straight-forward scorer.

Braun's efficiency on the court is still encouraging, shooting 51.9% from the field, though his three point shooting took a major dip from 39.7% in 2024-25 to just 30.1% in 2025-26, but above all else Braun needs to be more aggressive with his shots.

His field goal attempts per game are down from 10.4 to 8.8 this season, though is three point attempts per game increased from 2.8 to 3.3. Utilizing his efficiency from the field is the most important step up that Braun needs to make to get where he needs to be as a scorer to justify the pay day that's coming his way.