​Reigning EuroLeague Best Defender Alpha Diallo has agreed to a one-year, fully guaranteed contract with the Denver Nuggets, adding another veteran wing to the roster as Denver continues to retool around Nikola Jokić after five standout seasons with AS Monaco. The deal, reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania from Diallo’s agents Jared Mucha and Javon Phillips of Excel Sports Management, is valued at about $1.4 million and places Diallo on the NBA rookie minimum for the 2026-27 season.
Diallo, 29, is slated to make his NBA debut after a storied career overseas. He spent the last five seasons with AS Monaco, following an initial professional start with Lavrio in Greece. A Providence alum who went undrafted in 2020 after earning second-team All-Big East honors twice, Diallo has blossomed into one of Europe’s premier defensive players. He captured EuroLeague Best Defender honors this past season, a year after finishing third in the voting, a recognition determined by the league’s head coaches. In the 2025-26 EuroLeague campaign, Diallo appeared in 42 games, averaging 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 steals in 27.9 minutes per game, while also leading the league with 57 total steals and ranking first among forwards in points allowed per possession at 0.844.
Diallo’s performance helped Monaco clinch domestic league titles in France in 2023, 2024, and 2026, and he contributed to the club’s run to the 2025 EuroLeague Final Four. BasketNews’ Donatas Urbonas was among the first to report the Nuggets’ interest in the versatile defender. Denver views the 6-foot-6 wing as a low-cost bet on a veteran defender whose physicality, international experience, and ability to guard multiple positions could translate into meaningful rotation minutes.
From a roster-management perspective, Diallo’s guaranteed deal leaves Denver with 12 players on standard guarantees, leaving two more spots under the NBA’s 14-man minimum to fill before the regular season begins. One potential opening could be addressed with another veteran minimum signing. The larger strategic questions revolve around restricted free agents Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones. Denver retains the right to match any offer sheets signed by either Watson or Jones with another team, giving the Nuggets flexibility as they navigate this offseason and shape their rotation around Jokić.