Zeke Nnaji and the Nuggets have agreed to a four-year, $32 million contract extension, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post.
The deal, which was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, includes a player option for 2027-28, a league source said.
Nnaji, 22, is entering his fourth season in the league, the last of his rookie scale deal with a cap figure of $4.3 million. Monday is the deadline for 2020 first-round picks entering the last year of their rookie deals to sign contract extensions. The Nuggets, who begin their 2023-24 season Tuesday against the Lakers, selected Nnaji 22nd overall out of Arizona.
The 6-foot-9 big man is expected to take on a larger role this season, leading the way in backing up center Nikola Jokic as the Nuggets attempt to repeat as champions. Nnaji has averaged 5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game across the first three years of his career. Nagged by various injuries, he hasn’t appeared in more than 53 games in a season yet.
“If he’s our backup five, that means we’re playing pretty small,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Denver’s training camp this month. “So that gives us a chance to be pretty versatile. Switch a lot more with Zeke.”
Nnaji averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in five preseason games.
