Team: Denver Nuggets · Position: PF/C · Age during season: 26
Reported baseline
Nnaji appeared in 52 games and averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks and 0.3 threes in 12.0 minutes. He shot 47.0% from the field and 77.3% at the line.1
Encyclopedia projection
| GP | MPG | FG% (FGA) | FT% (FTA) | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | 5 | .480 (1.4) | .750 (0.4) | 0.1 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Correction 2026-07-18: minutes cut from 8 to 5 and counting stats rescaled (rates held constant), because the team desk's primary minute model now assumes Peyton Watson is retained. Hoops Rumors reported July 17 that Denver values Watson "significantly" and believes it is positioned well to keep him, with the interested teams all over the cap, so retention is the modal outcome rather than a branch. The prior 8-minute line survives as the Watson-departs contingency. https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/07/nuggets-rumors-watson-joerger-roddy-diallo.html
9-cat per-game band: unranked. Points: injury-only streamer in very deep formats. Dynasty: expendable depth unless a new team creates a clearer center rotation.
Fantasy profile
- Helps: low turnovers, some rebounds/blocks, and tolerable FT accuracy for a big.
- Hurts: every counting-stat volume category in the projected role; no elite per-minute category.
- Floor: coach's-decision depth behind Bagley and Brazile.
- Ceiling: trade or injury opens 20 MPG, producing roughly seven points, five rebounds and 0.8 blocks—still a deep-league line.
Role and confidence
The primary rotation, which assumes Watson is retained, gives Nnaji five minutes and the signed-only contingency gives him eight, but Denver can instead use Bagley, Brazile, Holmes or Gordon at center. His NBA status is stable; his nightly place is not. Roster confidence high, minutes low, rate medium, availability medium-high.
Sources
Career record
Pre-NBA: Arizona, one season (2019-20): 16.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, .570 FG, .760 FT; Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Pac-12. Draft: 2020, round 1, pick 22, Denver Nuggets.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 20 | DEN | 42 | 9.5 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.6 | .481 | .800 | 0.2 |
| 2021-22 | 21 | DEN | 41 | 17.0 | 6.6 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.9 | .516 | .631 | 0.6 |
| 2022-23 | 22 | DEN | 53 | 13.7 | 5.2 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | .561 | .645 | 0.6 |
| 2023-24 | 23 | DEN | 58 | 9.9 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | .463 | .677 | 0.5 |
| 2024-25 | 24 | DEN | 57 | 10.7 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | .496 | .614 | 0.2 |
| 2025-26 | 25 | DEN | 52 | 12.0 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | .470 | .773 | 0.5 |
| Career | DEN | 303 | 12.0 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | .503 | .671 | 0.4 |
Durability: Never more than 58 games in six seasons (42, 41, 53, 58, 57, 52) — the gaps are mostly rotation status and DNP-CDs rather than a documented injury file; no major surgery on record.
Trajectory: Six seasons, one team, one identity: a low-usage reserve big whose per-minute line has never grown. His 2021-22 (17 MPG, 0.9 threes) remains the career high-water mark, and the stretch-shooting that justified pick 22 never stabilized — 3PM has sat at 0.1-0.3 for four straight years. In 2026-27 he competes with Bagley, Brazile and Holmes for Denver's reserve-big minutes at 5-8 MPG. He becomes fantasy-relevant only via a trade to a thin frontcourt or multiple Denver injuries that force 20+ MPG, and even then the ceiling is a deep-league rebounds/blocks line.
Career sources: StatMuse career by season · StatMuse career averages · Wikipedia · ESPN team stats
Open questions
- Is Nnaji on Denver's opening-night roster or moved in a salary/roster consolidation?
- Does he beat Brazile or Holmes for the defensive reserve-big assignment?
- Can his three-point volume return enough to separate him from the other centers?
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ESPN, Denver 2025-26 regular-season stats, accessed July 18, 2026. https://www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/den/denver-nuggets ↩