Nuggets Rookie Christian Braun Was Almost Fined $15K For Using A Billionaire’s Parking Spot For Three Minutes

There are plenty of ways to end up on the receiving end of a fine when you play in the NBA (just ask Draymond Green), but the majority of the financial penalties that get handed out stem from incidents that unfold during a game.

However, players also need to be aware of how they behave off of the court if they don’t want to attract the ire of the league or the team they play for—or, in the case of Nuggets guard Christian Braun, the billionaire who unofficially owns the franchise that pays his salary.

Braun spent three seasons playing for the Kansas Jayhawks before declaring for the NBA Draft, and in 2022, Denver selected him with the 21st overall pick.

The Nuggets are technically owned by Ann Kroenke, who is the wife of Stan Kroenke, the billionaire who officially serves as the President and Governor of the Nuggets due to a clause that prohibits the owners of NFL teams from helming sports franchises in other leagues unless they’re located in the same city (Kroenke has a majority stake in the Rams in addition to the Avalanche, the Colorado Rapids, and Arsenal).

Owning an NBA team comes with its fair share of perks—including three parking spots inside Ball Arena that are reserved for Kroenke.

Based on a story Braun shared on a recent episode of the Rock Chalk Unplugged podcast, Kroenke governs those spots with an iron fist, as the guard revealed he was unexpectedly hit with a $15,000 fine after leaving his car there for less than three minutes (although he was eventually able to get it reduced).

Here’s what he had to say about what transpired after he briefly trespassed on Kroenke’s territory after returning from a game of paintball:

“I’m about to get dressed and there’s a piece of paper on my chair and it was a $15,000 fine. I’m like, ‘$15,000? I haven’t even gotten a paycheck. What do you mean $15,000?’

I call our person and I’m like, ‘$15,000? That’s not going to work. We’re not going to do this. You’re not getting my money.’ She’s like, ‘What do you mean we’re not getting your money? It comes straight out. You don’t even see that money.’

The three spots I parked in are Mr. Kroenke’s. Not only did I park in his spot, I parked in all three of them, so it’s $5,000 for each of those executive spots. So I get a $15,000 fine on my chair. 

There was not a single person at the arena. My car’s still on. I was there for two-and-a-half minutes, and they just caught me on the camera and they looked up whose car it was and it was mine. 

She ended up getting it down to $2,500.”

Hell hath no fury like a billionaire who could’ve theoretically been inconvenienced.