Report: Denver Nuggets Extend Forward Kenneth Faried 5-Years, $60 Million

Feb 8, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Denver Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried (35) warms up before the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Around 12:00 PM MST Sunday night, I came across Kenneth Faried‘s twitter handle retweeted to me by a fellow follower. The tweet entitled “All smiles” followed by the hashtag “#NUGGET4LIFE. Could he have signed a contract extension to stay with the Denver Nuggets? Reports confirmed he has indeed signed a contract extension with the Nuggets, extending the forward on a five-year deal worth $60 million.

Faried, 24, is coming off of an impressive showing in the FIBA World Cup and his second-half stats last season shows he is in fact improving his overall game. Faried put up All-Star numbers the second half of the season, averaging 18.8 points per game and 10.1 rebounds, while shooting 54.6% percent from the field.

More from Denver Nuggets

• Denver Nuggets Steal Ducks Darling Bol Bol in Second Round
• Denver Nuggets: Season Grades for the 2018-19 Players
• Denver Nuggets: Reflections on an Incredible Season
• Denver Nuggets: 3 Things to do if they Win game 7
• Denver Nuggets: 3 Things to do if they Lose to Portland

His last five games of the regular season really had people like myself excited to see what the Nuggets’ could do when healthy. Faried had a monster game against the Utah Jazz on Apr. 12th, scoring 24 points while adding 21 rebounds and 5 assists. Back to the last five games. Faried averaged 20.2 points per game on 64.7% percent shooting, collecting 13.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.

Faried noted that the uncertainty and talks of his extension hampered his play early on last season, but the forward out of Moorhead State will be a fixture in this Denver Nuggets lineup for years to come, which is excellent news for Nuggets’ fans.

Faried has averaged 12.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game during his three-years in the league (all with Denver). Faried has played in 206 games, starting 196 of them — logging over 26.5 minutes per game.

The Denver Nuggets begin preseason play Monday night as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers in San Diego, California. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM MST.