Former Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji signs 4-year extension with Nuggets

First he got a ring, now Zeke Nnaji is getting paid.

The former Arizona Wildcats forward has agreed to a 4-year extension with the Denver Nuggets that will pay him $32 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal reportedly includes a player option.

The 6-foot-9 Nnaji, 22, averaged 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds last season in 53 games with Denver, starting five times, and got into dive games during the Nuggets’ run to the NBA title. He shot a career-best 56.1 percent, and in three years with Denver he is shooting 52.7 percent in 136 games (seven starts).

Nnaji was the 22^nd pick in the 2020 NBA Draft after one COVID-shortened season at Arizona, where he was the fifth Pac-12 Freshman of the Year under Sean Miller. In that season he averaged 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds on 57 percent shooting, recording 14 double-doubles for the second-most in school history by a freshman.