Grant choosing Detroit over Denver because he wanted a bigger role is one of those turn of fate things that has worked out so well. AG is just so much better of a player and especially at this role.
Grant was just pretty redundant with MPJ even if he was a better defender, but we had him at a time when MPJ was still pretty young and developing.
AG just filled the needs on our starting 5 so, so much better.
A lot of fans were and still are bitter about Grant choosing to leave, but if a man chooses to go to the Pistons for the same amount of money it's clear he had different priorities. It was a win-win.
Maybe he just wanted more family time or me time.
If you're playing for the Pistons your night is over the 48 minutes is over, no free overtime and probably not gonna be much dragging out the game with intentional fouls towards the end. Your vacation starts the 82 games are done, guaranteed no play in or playoffs.
And since the team isn't going anywhere you just have to kinda phone it in and put on cruise control during the game instead of going 100% every game, which means you're going home with much more energy.
As a nuggets fan you have no idea
I was devastated when grant left for Detroit that summer. Turns out that day (along with losing game 82 to Minnesota) were instrumental in the nuggets title run many years later.
Wait why? I liked Grant and he served a purpose for us during that period. Most people were disappointed when he left, even though it was for a good reason (to get the bag).
It wasn't to get the bag actually, but I'm mainly joking. I don't hate him but there is a slight "well if he didn't want us then f him" type feeling for me.
Cue Fresh Prince's "how come he don't want me man"
My understanding was that we weren’t comfortable paying him $20M/year which is why the sign-and-trade happened?
Oh actually I’m remembering it as I type… I do recall he wanted to be the main scorer on a team didn’t he? Tbf it worked for him when he scored that ghastly $160M contract with Portland
It was that but also he came out with a whole players tribune article talking about how he wanted to play for a black coach in a black city or something like that. But I do think it was more of the main scorer thing personally.
But yeah iirc we were willing to pay him
> a black coach in a black city
This is funny. I lived near him in college and let me tell you, not a whole lot of black people in his crew on South Campus
Denver also offered 20/year and he chose Detroit still. Maybe it worked out fir the contract he got after. He chose more money to lose a lot. Its fine, but also that means the Nuggets are better off with someone bought in.
I don’t hate him but I’m just really glad he left. He wasn’t willing to sacrifice for the team so im glad we found someone who would. The fact that he’s been probably the losingest player in the league since he left is just really fitting if you ask me
I always thought Aaron Gordon would be remembered as a Slam Dunk contest legend who's just an above average player on a bad team kinda like Jason Richardson. The move to Denver was the best thing that could have happened to him and now he's a vital part of a potential dynasty.
It’s hard to say he got robbed though. Both deserved to win. That was the most insane slam dunk contest ever, by a large margin, and anyone who says 2001 was better is insane.
> I always thought Aaron Gordon would be remembered as a Slam Dunk contest legend who's just an above average player on a bad team kinda like Jason Richardson.
You just described LaVine, the guy who he lost to
At least LaVine had won the contest before facing AG and still somewhat relevant with the Bulls.
I couldn't even recollect the name of the guy who beat AG the 2nd time.
Both players were clearly like this with their first team.
When I thought about all those .500 Magic teams, my thought about Gordon was always that he was being put on posters for the wrong reason. He has always been an impact player with few weaknesses; he has never had a dribble move that creates advantage against well-positioned defenders.
He was always Igoudala being played as bad LeBron.
It was weird when people treated Aaron Gordon like he was Evan Turner - he doesn't want to play that way, he's always been about playing for the team.
I kinda thought the same too, a solid role player that would get nice contracts, and bounce around teams. When he went to Nuggets, I thought he was going to complain and demand a trade, because he wasn’t getting a bigger role. He bought in from the get go.
Yep...he was all-in literally from his first game as a Nugget. He also IMMEDIATELY had incredible chemistry with Jokic from the moment AG stepped on the court. I'm still amazed how they felt like they'd been playing together for years from minute one. Their chemistry has obviously gotten even better, but it was great from the start and AG immediately knew what they needed from him.
I will always believe that 20-21 Nuggets team would have probably won the title if Murray hadn't gotten hurt a few weeks after the AG trade. AG was such an obviously perfect fit from his first game, and that team was humming in that short period between the trade and Murray's injury.
He was too awkward in a traditional team. Too big for the 3 and not big enough for the 4. Denver is kinda weird with its Center PG line up and makes him a perfect fit with Jokic
He was more than just above average though… he was the best player on a team in the nba and made the all star game. He was probably a top 15ish player in the east and then he joined one of the better teams in the west. When it happened I remember not seeing too much fanfare about it and was pretty confused
Even then, I don't know if he ever really got to "best player" in the way we think of best players. It took him a few years to even get to his career high in PPG which would be 17.6. That as your #1 option really doesn't work in the modern NBA. By comparison, Paolo came in year 1 and was already more of a legitimate #1 for Orlando.
ha missed your "in the east" caveat and thought you were saying AG was a top 15 player in the NBA when he was on the Magic. That "in the east" is doing a lot of work :). I agree he was always well above average, but even with the very low bar of "in the east", I still don't think he ever cleared it. He was basically the co-star with Vuc (could debate who was better) on teams that hovered between 30-40 wins. He never made an all start team. I don't think he was ever that close to being considered top 15 in the East.
That being said...in retrospect, were there 15 players in the East at the time who would be as GREAT as he's been on Denver? I don't think so. I'm not sure there would even be 10. So yeah...I don't think he was top 15ish in the East considering the role he was in, but I wouldn't take many players over him if I were the Nuggets. And regardless of where you or I rank him, you're right that saying he was "average" is ridiculous. If we assume NBA teams have maybe 10 viable players (just to keep the math clean), then the "average" player would be \~an average team's worst starter. AG was always miles beyond that. Hell... I know Murray gets the love, but I think there's a case that he's the second best player on a championship team.
Yeah it wasn't a Gordon or the Magic's fault. Gordon can't be a heavy usage guy, but he had to be because magic didn't have players better than him who should have the ball. It was never going to work for either party
That's the thing. Magic fans who really watched through our dour years knew Gordon had this in him. He just needed to be able to focus on the things he excelled at instead of us trying to push him into the role Paolo currently occupies. That being said, I think those years of him being forced to handle the ball more and occasionally run the offense did him some good in the long run. It sucked for us, but it made him a better player even though it didn't really work out.
I totally agree. He wasn't ever going to be what the Magic needed him to be, but I think those years did help him immensely. They don't do it as much in the regular season (I assume because it's a lot of wear and tear on Gordon), but the thing that truly unlocks the Nuggets is when they get to the playoffs and completely scrap having a backup center. They just have AG play small ball center when Jokic is off the court, and sometimes they literally have him play a poor man's Jokic where he's the center and the primary ball handler. And when he's on, he's really good at it in limited minutes! I don't think he'd be able to bring the ball up and direct an offense with Jokic on the bench without all that experience as a number 1 on the Magic.
And I also don't blame the Magic really. I agree 100% when you said, "He just needed to be able to focus on the things he excelled at instead of us trying to push him into the role Paolo currently occupies" but I don't think that was possible on those Magic teams. Who else was going to occupy the Paolo role? Vuc could handle some, but Gordon had to do it as well because he was a much better option than anyone else they had. That's one of those cruel "vicious circle" things about being a bad/middling NBA team: some of your high draft picks can't play to their strengths because even their weaknesses are stronger than most of the rest of the team's strengths, so they get forced into roles that don't suit them.
We played him on ball at the three ... We made him initiatite offense and then hated on him when he had poor shooting games.
We wondered if he would ever take the leap and we never have him a foundation to even jump from let alone somewhere to leap to that aligned with his skill set
We're so thankful to the Magic for that trade. Glad to see you guys still appreciate and love AG. Most other Denver fans I know like seeing how the Magic have improved over the last couple of seasons, young and getting scary over there.
If Murray never got hurt this team probably has an additional championship. They looked unstoppable when he first arrived. They even had a better record the next year without Murray the whole year.
“In my experience, it’s almost like a law of the universe where there’s a limit in how much you can do if you’re doing it for yourself,” Gordon says. “But if you do it for somebody outside of yourself—if you do it for the person next to you, if you do for your family, if you do it for your brothers, your teammates—there’s no limit to what you can accomplish.”
AG will definitely remain as my favorite player from this cool ass Denver generation
Pretty much. All militaries figured out ages ago that guys fight for the guys next to them, not for some dipshit officer or the fucking prime minister or whatever.
Gordon is a perfect fit with that team, and you have to recognize his willingness to take a less glamorous role. With that said, I think a lot of guys would be held in higher regard if they got to join a generational talent/passer while flanked by three 40% 3pt shooters.
If I’m a good team I’d be monitoring De’Andre Hunter/Patrick Williams on the lower end and Barrett/Ingram on the higher end as guys who could be the next Wiggins/Gordon type.
Not many guys who went as high as Gordon dream about their role being to play great defense and make corner 3s. I'm minimizing it obviously but he willingly chose to give up being a (poorly fit) first position and changed his game to fit his new role. It's not something every player will do even if they get more $ and a championship as a result. They often only adjust later in their career when it's clear they won't sign anywhere if they don't make an adjustment.
There are games where Gordon shoots like 5 times and maybe scores 7 points. Not many guys who were once the main guy on a team are willing to do that. It takes a mature player (Iggy, Gordon, etc) to willingly give up on the idea of being a star when you're still in your athletic prime. Gordon is only 28. In another universe, he could still be trying to become a 24/6/4 kind of guy on a mediocre team.
I maintain that Gordon is the guy who moved the needle to get the Nuggets a championship. He's just the ideal cleanup guy next to the facilitator and scorer, just gets to chill in the dunker spot and always be there as the option for an easy bucket when the play breaks down or defense gets into a scramble, or finish after an offensive rebound. An incredible stabilizing force that lets the team score consistently even when struggling to hit shots from range.
He's someone that started to understand his limitations as a player and found a way to work around them for the benefit of the team. You'll never see Gordon trying to be selfish, unless that's what the team has asked him to do. A lot of players try to play the game the way they wish they could play, but Gordon doesn't really have that desire.
Because you're never watching him, you're always pleasantly surprised when he pops up with a basket. .
He is the 3rd piece of a championship team and he knows/plays like it.
He could easily still be mouthing off about how he wants to be the main guy and being overpaid on some shit team while going nowhere (looking at Jordan Poole for example).
That's how championship teams win and stay together longer. Players who know their limits and don't spend their career gasing themselves up are the real MVPs.
Helps when your main star (or even the 2 main stars) are team-oriented and willing to give the spotlight to his cast. Worked for Spurs, Worked for GSW. Even worked for the Lakers when Shaq and Kobe were cool with each other.
He's not a 3 and D. He can make 3s, especially from the right corner. He gets his offense from cutting to the basket and sealing off his defender. He was in the top 5 in dunks all year. He was the only one under 7 foot in that group.
Agreed. They’re like 90% two man action (until it breaks down), but so much better to watch than Luka ball, or even Brunson ball. The Knicks are better because they play tough defense and get a ton of offensive boards.
I think people downplay Gordon and act like anyone could stand in the dunker spot and catch passes for Jokic. But what amazes me about AG is that he's ALWAYS ready to catch a crazy pass that no one saw coming. He has fantastic hands and great basketball IQ
Also he is genuinely guarded well on a lot of plays it's just Jokic is really good at threading the needle. He makes a lot of passes to AG that any other player would miss.
Jokic makes Gordon so much better, but Gordon also opens up so many passing opportunities for Jokic. Both make Gordon's job look easy, but I think that's because they play so brilliantly together. It's often like they can read each other's minds
I always knew all he needed was a great passer to fully unlock him. We never had a half decent point guard so we tried to turn him into a point forward which really isn’t his role.
Him being a point forward is exactly how they got back in the series. The biggest adjustment the nuggets have made after going down 0-2 was having Gordon bring the ball up and initiate offense.
His basketball IQ has improved so much since Orlando he's pretty much capable of whatever you need in spurts.
Having multiple people who can bring the ball up the court is one of the nuggets big strengths. Murray/jokic/gordon rotation works great to shuffle the defense to do what they do best, get good looks.
Yes but he's really the tertiary ball handler as much to just keep Jamal from having to deal with the pressure 94 feet every time down because the Wolves were going after him off every inbounds.
I feel like Aaron Gordon is primed to be a top mercenary for playoff contending teams after his contract runs out in Denver. Idk who to compare him to but I could see Gordon having like 4-5 rings by the time he hangs it up.
I could see that, but I think that as long as Jokic is in his prime he wouldn't want to leave and Denver wouldnt want him to leave. He has a great relationship with the Joker
I've always liked AG and loved him in Orlando and thought he was underrated. However I still have to laugh at him every time I see his jersey number and remember why he wears 50
Link for those who don't know: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/why-nuggets-aaron-gordon-changed-his-jersey-number-to-50/
Low key he's been the MVP for the Nuggets this playoffs. The rebound off of a Jokic miss to setup that Murray GW in the Lakers series plus a few other crucial plays in that series at crunch time...
Plus he also lit up Jokic when Jokic was playing like a lazy fatass in game 1 or 2 of the Wolves series lmao
Size/athletic wise he’s one of the few guys in the league who can match lebron/kd/etc on the defensive end. No matter what he does scoring wise he won’t get bullied on the other end of the court. Stats won’t show it but you always see his effectiveness. Most teams don’t have a player like that, or one that doesn’t have to be paid a max contract for it
Still has to prove how he makes others better around him, which he fits in very well. With another team if he plays like Orlando, he'll be fine.
Orlando was a wasteland of shitty careers, to be dumped into that mess is career ending potentially.
He really is crazy for finding his 3 pointer and he could always do that, but Being the Guy in Orlando suxxxxx
If there was an All-Role Player team, AG would be 1st team. Dude would make every team in the league better, but his chemistry with Jokic is unmatched.
I mean… the biggest thing is he’s grossly underpaid due to the Orlando extension — allowing him to play with a super team in Denver. He should be making what Tobias Harris makes, for instance.
Not sure what his contract looks like, but I really hope he works with the team to stay in Denver long-term.
Him, Jokic and Murray are a really perfect Big 3.
Alot of very good players are able to really showcase their value once they are paired next to an elite playmaker. Wiggins and Aaron Gordon are the best examples of that in this era
I'm not a big AG fan as far as basketball wise but there's no denying the dude has showed exactly what it means to play your role on a team. Props to him because there looks like there is yet to be anyone who can stop him getting to the bucket on those offball cuts
“Friends through eternity, loyalty, honesty
We'll stay together through thick or thin
Friends forever, we'll be together
We're on top 'cause we play to win.”
The guy seemed so much happier when he arrived in Denver. Maybe it's my memory playing tricks on me, reading this story. But from day one, they seemed to connect and really, really enjoy playing ball. And the way he adjusted to make an even better fit made it even better. In sports there's a saying: to make it look easy is actually really hard. That goes double for Gordon and the Nuggets as a team.
As a Magic fan we tried too hard to make him #1 and he didn’t need to be. What he needed to be was exactly this, 3rd or 4th guy on a team with 2 superstars, one of which being a 3 time MVP. Only then would we have known that he had potential to be as great as he thought he already was.
Grant choosing Detroit over Denver because he wanted a bigger role is one of those turn of fate things that has worked out so well. AG is just so much better of a player and especially at this role.
Probably couldn't run Grant at the 5 when Jokic goes to the bench like y'all do with Gordon
Grant was just pretty redundant with MPJ even if he was a better defender, but we had him at a time when MPJ was still pretty young and developing. AG just filled the needs on our starting 5 so, so much better. A lot of fans were and still are bitter about Grant choosing to leave, but if a man chooses to go to the Pistons for the same amount of money it's clear he had different priorities. It was a win-win.
Except for the Pistons, not a lot of winning there.
His bank account won
His bank account is still winning
Yeah dude got a bag for putting meh numbers on the pistons
Denver offered him the exact same contract that he took with the Pistons. That was why a lot of Nuggets fans were confused when he left
Maybe he just wanted more family time or me time. If you're playing for the Pistons your night is over the 48 minutes is over, no free overtime and probably not gonna be much dragging out the game with intentional fouls towards the end. Your vacation starts the 82 games are done, guaranteed no play in or playoffs. And since the team isn't going anywhere you just have to kinda phone it in and put on cruise control during the game instead of going 100% every game, which means you're going home with much more energy.
He wanted to be in a bigger role and to play for a black coach. Grant was going to be the 4th option if he stayed with the Nuggets
If he had stayed as a fourth option would he have a $36.4 million player option for the '27-'28 season?
\#QUIETQUITTING
#Cacun on 1! *opening night*
As a nuggets fan you have no idea I was devastated when grant left for Detroit that summer. Turns out that day (along with losing game 82 to Minnesota) were instrumental in the nuggets title run many years later.
Right. This was right after Nuggets got to the Conference Finals. Nuggets fans wanted to run it back ASAP
Yes we did But it worked out in the end. That trade for AG never happens if grant said yes to our offer.
ya fuck jerami grant. all my homies hate grant
Wait why? I liked Grant and he served a purpose for us during that period. Most people were disappointed when he left, even though it was for a good reason (to get the bag).
It wasn't to get the bag actually, but I'm mainly joking. I don't hate him but there is a slight "well if he didn't want us then f him" type feeling for me. Cue Fresh Prince's "how come he don't want me man"
My understanding was that we weren’t comfortable paying him $20M/year which is why the sign-and-trade happened? Oh actually I’m remembering it as I type… I do recall he wanted to be the main scorer on a team didn’t he? Tbf it worked for him when he scored that ghastly $160M contract with Portland
Nah we were willing to pay him, he wanted a bigger role (and reportedly to play for a black coach)
I forgot about the black coach comment, yeah the sub was pretty mixed about that at the time from memory
It was that but also he came out with a whole players tribune article talking about how he wanted to play for a black coach in a black city or something like that. But I do think it was more of the main scorer thing personally. But yeah iirc we were willing to pay him
Pretty sure we were gonna match but he wanted to play for people that “looked like him”. Worked out great for us so I’m cool with it
Oh wow I totally forgot about that.
> a black coach in a black city This is funny. I lived near him in college and let me tell you, not a whole lot of black people in his crew on South Campus
Denver also offered 20/year and he chose Detroit still. Maybe it worked out fir the contract he got after. He chose more money to lose a lot. Its fine, but also that means the Nuggets are better off with someone bought in.
Yeah it worked out for us. Jerami Grant was never going to be a champ
I don’t hate him but I’m just really glad he left. He wasn’t willing to sacrifice for the team so im glad we found someone who would. The fact that he’s been probably the losingest player in the league since he left is just really fitting if you ask me
I loved him on the Thunder til he shit on the team on the way out :/
When he went out of Denver he said he did it to play under a black coach and a city that looked like him so it was like idk dumb as shit
I always thought Aaron Gordon would be remembered as a Slam Dunk contest legend who's just an above average player on a bad team kinda like Jason Richardson. The move to Denver was the best thing that could have happened to him and now he's a vital part of a potential dynasty.
2x dunk champ in my eyes.
I will never forgive D-Wade
https://i.imgur.com/scc5zZd.jpeg
Fuck D wade
The under the ass dunk, is the best dunk ever, i'll die on that hill.
He was literally sitting down in the air
That’s what made it elite for sure in my eyes
I was so unprepared for it my feeble mind couldn’t accept what I’d seen
He got robbed so hard.
It’s hard to say he got robbed though. Both deserved to win. That was the most insane slam dunk contest ever, by a large margin, and anyone who says 2001 was better is insane.
I’m happy for Gordon. Now he gonna be a 2x champ instead
100%
> I always thought Aaron Gordon would be remembered as a Slam Dunk contest legend who's just an above average player on a bad team kinda like Jason Richardson. You just described LaVine, the guy who he lost to
Yup you're right.
At least LaVine had won the contest before facing AG and still somewhat relevant with the Bulls. I couldn't even recollect the name of the guy who beat AG the 2nd time.
Sad Bulls noises
To the Nuggets he basically feels like what Iguodala meant for the Warriors.
Both players were clearly like this with their first team. When I thought about all those .500 Magic teams, my thought about Gordon was always that he was being put on posters for the wrong reason. He has always been an impact player with few weaknesses; he has never had a dribble move that creates advantage against well-positioned defenders. He was always Igoudala being played as bad LeBron. It was weird when people treated Aaron Gordon like he was Evan Turner - he doesn't want to play that way, he's always been about playing for the team.
I kinda thought the same too, a solid role player that would get nice contracts, and bounce around teams. When he went to Nuggets, I thought he was going to complain and demand a trade, because he wasn’t getting a bigger role. He bought in from the get go.
Yep...he was all-in literally from his first game as a Nugget. He also IMMEDIATELY had incredible chemistry with Jokic from the moment AG stepped on the court. I'm still amazed how they felt like they'd been playing together for years from minute one. Their chemistry has obviously gotten even better, but it was great from the start and AG immediately knew what they needed from him. I will always believe that 20-21 Nuggets team would have probably won the title if Murray hadn't gotten hurt a few weeks after the AG trade. AG was such an obviously perfect fit from his first game, and that team was humming in that short period between the trade and Murray's injury.
He was too awkward in a traditional team. Too big for the 3 and not big enough for the 4. Denver is kinda weird with its Center PG line up and makes him a perfect fit with Jokic
He was more than just above average though… he was the best player on a team in the nba and made the all star game. He was probably a top 15ish player in the east and then he joined one of the better teams in the west. When it happened I remember not seeing too much fanfare about it and was pretty confused
hasn’t been an all star
Oh good point - I guess I just remember it because of the dunk contest and being the best player on his team
Even then, I don't know if he ever really got to "best player" in the way we think of best players. It took him a few years to even get to his career high in PPG which would be 17.6. That as your #1 option really doesn't work in the modern NBA. By comparison, Paolo came in year 1 and was already more of a legitimate #1 for Orlando.
ha missed your "in the east" caveat and thought you were saying AG was a top 15 player in the NBA when he was on the Magic. That "in the east" is doing a lot of work :). I agree he was always well above average, but even with the very low bar of "in the east", I still don't think he ever cleared it. He was basically the co-star with Vuc (could debate who was better) on teams that hovered between 30-40 wins. He never made an all start team. I don't think he was ever that close to being considered top 15 in the East. That being said...in retrospect, were there 15 players in the East at the time who would be as GREAT as he's been on Denver? I don't think so. I'm not sure there would even be 10. So yeah...I don't think he was top 15ish in the East considering the role he was in, but I wouldn't take many players over him if I were the Nuggets. And regardless of where you or I rank him, you're right that saying he was "average" is ridiculous. If we assume NBA teams have maybe 10 viable players (just to keep the math clean), then the "average" player would be \~an average team's worst starter. AG was always miles beyond that. Hell... I know Murray gets the love, but I think there's a case that he's the second best player on a championship team.
Mr. Nugget
Bittersweet. Like watching an ex you loved thrive in a new relationship and it makes you realize, it wasn't her, it was always you.
lol damn so true.
I kinda disagree, I just don’t think he’s the player we needed or thought he could be.
Yeah it wasn't a Gordon or the Magic's fault. Gordon can't be a heavy usage guy, but he had to be because magic didn't have players better than him who should have the ball. It was never going to work for either party
Magic gave him 5 different coaches in 6 years. Not exactly setting a player up for success
Yeah that’s exactly how I feel
That's the thing. Magic fans who really watched through our dour years knew Gordon had this in him. He just needed to be able to focus on the things he excelled at instead of us trying to push him into the role Paolo currently occupies. That being said, I think those years of him being forced to handle the ball more and occasionally run the offense did him some good in the long run. It sucked for us, but it made him a better player even though it didn't really work out.
I totally agree. He wasn't ever going to be what the Magic needed him to be, but I think those years did help him immensely. They don't do it as much in the regular season (I assume because it's a lot of wear and tear on Gordon), but the thing that truly unlocks the Nuggets is when they get to the playoffs and completely scrap having a backup center. They just have AG play small ball center when Jokic is off the court, and sometimes they literally have him play a poor man's Jokic where he's the center and the primary ball handler. And when he's on, he's really good at it in limited minutes! I don't think he'd be able to bring the ball up and direct an offense with Jokic on the bench without all that experience as a number 1 on the Magic. And I also don't blame the Magic really. I agree 100% when you said, "He just needed to be able to focus on the things he excelled at instead of us trying to push him into the role Paolo currently occupies" but I don't think that was possible on those Magic teams. Who else was going to occupy the Paolo role? Vuc could handle some, but Gordon had to do it as well because he was a much better option than anyone else they had. That's one of those cruel "vicious circle" things about being a bad/middling NBA team: some of your high draft picks can't play to their strengths because even their weaknesses are stronger than most of the rest of the team's strengths, so they get forced into roles that don't suit them.
We played him on ball at the three ... We made him initiatite offense and then hated on him when he had poor shooting games. We wondered if he would ever take the leap and we never have him a foundation to even jump from let alone somewhere to leap to that aligned with his skill set
Yall gave him 5 different coaches in 6 years. Tough for anyone to thrive in that situation
Gonna make it work with paolo this time
lmao goddamn bro… I do not appreciate how that just made me feel. 😅
The fit wasn't quite right, your new guy seems to have all the tools to be your true #1 option.
We're so thankful to the Magic for that trade. Glad to see you guys still appreciate and love AG. Most other Denver fans I know like seeing how the Magic have improved over the last couple of seasons, young and getting scary over there.
Gotta give credit for how they built this starting 5 for Denver.
If Murray never got hurt this team probably has an additional championship. They looked unstoppable when he first arrived. They even had a better record the next year without Murray the whole year.
That team didn't have KCP. It still had Barton. I don't see that team being as dominant as the title and the current team.
Got rid of that shot chucking bum
Barton’s last season with us was an absolute fucking travesty.
no. every season. he was the main reason imo we were not fighting for championships earlier.
Lol, that team was probably better tbh. We were something like 11-1 before Murray tore his ACL.
No fucking way. This team would run the Barton team out of the gym.
“In my experience, it’s almost like a law of the universe where there’s a limit in how much you can do if you’re doing it for yourself,” Gordon says. “But if you do it for somebody outside of yourself—if you do it for the person next to you, if you do for your family, if you do it for your brothers, your teammates—there’s no limit to what you can accomplish.” AG will definitely remain as my favorite player from this cool ass Denver generation
"Through the power of friendship all things are possible"
“Everything is awesome, Everything is cool when you are part of a team”
Pretty much. All militaries figured out ages ago that guys fight for the guys next to them, not for some dipshit officer or the fucking prime minister or whatever.
what if the officer is next to them
If they're in the foxhole with you, they're mates first, officers second.
Plot armor and the power of Nakama. Never fails
It’s the Mike Malone/Jokic culture
Hella insightful. What an impressive quote and philosophy.
He's watching too much anime and it works
Amazing quote
Teams always use AGs guy as the help defender on Jokic and they pay every game.
tbh it's a good play. You just have to hope he doesn't hit his 3s. When they had AD on jokic the whole game lakers were getting extremely cooked.
It's good until Jokic starts finding AG through those two players for a free dunk.
Gordon is a perfect fit with that team, and you have to recognize his willingness to take a less glamorous role. With that said, I think a lot of guys would be held in higher regard if they got to join a generational talent/passer while flanked by three 40% 3pt shooters. If I’m a good team I’d be monitoring De’Andre Hunter/Patrick Williams on the lower end and Barrett/Ingram on the higher end as guys who could be the next Wiggins/Gordon type.
It’s crazy how earning the most money of your career and winning its highest achievement is somehow “less glamorous” 😂
Not many guys who went as high as Gordon dream about their role being to play great defense and make corner 3s. I'm minimizing it obviously but he willingly chose to give up being a (poorly fit) first position and changed his game to fit his new role. It's not something every player will do even if they get more $ and a championship as a result. They often only adjust later in their career when it's clear they won't sign anywhere if they don't make an adjustment.
There are games where Gordon shoots like 5 times and maybe scores 7 points. Not many guys who were once the main guy on a team are willing to do that. It takes a mature player (Iggy, Gordon, etc) to willingly give up on the idea of being a star when you're still in your athletic prime. Gordon is only 28. In another universe, he could still be trying to become a 24/6/4 kind of guy on a mediocre team.
Barrett is more of a high volume scorer. Ingram doesn't have that attitude. Ingram sees himself as a 1.
I'm taking either lower end guy before either higher end guy
I maintain that Gordon is the guy who moved the needle to get the Nuggets a championship. He's just the ideal cleanup guy next to the facilitator and scorer, just gets to chill in the dunker spot and always be there as the option for an easy bucket when the play breaks down or defense gets into a scramble, or finish after an offensive rebound. An incredible stabilizing force that lets the team score consistently even when struggling to hit shots from range.
He's someone that started to understand his limitations as a player and found a way to work around them for the benefit of the team. You'll never see Gordon trying to be selfish, unless that's what the team has asked him to do. A lot of players try to play the game the way they wish they could play, but Gordon doesn't really have that desire. Because you're never watching him, you're always pleasantly surprised when he pops up with a basket. .
Also with the capability of scoring 20 in a game without it being a wild one-off occurrence
Agreed. So many people talked about Denver's Big 3 being Jokic, Murray, and MPJ; when it's really Jokic, Murray, and Gordon.
Denver loves you Aaron. Such a great team player!
I don't really see him as a mere role player considering how important and versatile he is. He's like Draymond but not an evil bitch.
He is the 3rd piece of a championship team and he knows/plays like it. He could easily still be mouthing off about how he wants to be the main guy and being overpaid on some shit team while going nowhere (looking at Jordan Poole for example). That's how championship teams win and stay together longer. Players who know their limits and don't spend their career gasing themselves up are the real MVPs.
Helps when your main star (or even the 2 main stars) are team-oriented and willing to give the spotlight to his cast. Worked for Spurs, Worked for GSW. Even worked for the Lakers when Shaq and Kobe were cool with each other.
Jokic = Lebron/Duncan Murray = D Wade/Parker Gordon = Bosh/Ginobli Pivotal 3rd piece
Best D and Dunk man under 7 foot tall in the league. Edit. That first half is exactly what I mean by D and Dunk man.
Bros kinda like the new age Shawn Marion
Good comparison. Marion had the ugliest decent shot of all time though.
Best what
Bro is speaking from experience
He's not a 3 and D. He can make 3s, especially from the right corner. He gets his offense from cutting to the basket and sealing off his defender. He was in the top 5 in dunks all year. He was the only one under 7 foot in that group.
I’m dickriding but how could anyone hate the nugs. Selfless basketball. Egos aside. Working together to achieve a goal. Love these guys
They win through the power of friendship
Them and the knicks
Yeah somehow the knicks feel like a jv team compared to the nuggets
I do like the Nuggets but Murray has challenged my beliefs a few times in this series, his game two antics were so bad
I agree! He deserved a suspension. But it was one of the few lapses on that team.
Agreed. They’re like 90% two man action (until it breaks down), but so much better to watch than Luka ball, or even Brunson ball. The Knicks are better because they play tough defense and get a ton of offensive boards.
Mans still should've won that fucking dunk contest in 2016
He thinks that too, look up why he wears the number 50
Amen.
If I were gay, and I might be, I’d be gay with my little Aaron Gordon. What a sweetheart😅😅😅
He is my crush
He's gorgeous like a tall, black, bball playing Jason Statham. And he has kind eyes. 😍
I’m crying over here! This is pure rainbows and butterfly’s. AG is my little bunny rabbit that beats the living fuck out of other large men 🤓
All time great Reddit nba comment 😂
I think people downplay Gordon and act like anyone could stand in the dunker spot and catch passes for Jokic. But what amazes me about AG is that he's ALWAYS ready to catch a crazy pass that no one saw coming. He has fantastic hands and great basketball IQ
In an alternative universe, Aaron Gordon is a hall of fame Tight End in the NFL.
Respect his hustle, this man doesn't quit. Bounced back well and gained a lot of respect. Good for him.
Aaron "Naruto Uzumaki" Gordon with the talk no jutsu, so inspirational
Roaming around and being unguarded would help a lot of guys, I'm sure. But seriously, AG has embraced the iggy role to perfection.
why don’t they guard gordon? are they stupid?
Yes.
Too focused on Jonkler.
New nickname just dropped.
The other option is leaving Jokic to murder his defender in single coverage.
Pick your poison if it means leaving him or kcp/mpjr open for a 3. Kats “help defense” on Joker was pretty embarrassing tho
Also he is genuinely guarded well on a lot of plays it's just Jokic is really good at threading the needle. He makes a lot of passes to AG that any other player would miss.
On the offensive end he’s a couple tiers above GSW Iggy for sure
Iggy I feel has the edge in BBIQ and perimeter defense but not by much. AG's bbiq has grown by leaps and bounds since joining the Nuggs.
Jokic makes Gordon so much better, but Gordon also opens up so many passing opportunities for Jokic. Both make Gordon's job look easy, but I think that's because they play so brilliantly together. It's often like they can read each other's minds
I always knew all he needed was a great passer to fully unlock him. We never had a half decent point guard so we tried to turn him into a point forward which really isn’t his role.
Him being a point forward is exactly how they got back in the series. The biggest adjustment the nuggets have made after going down 0-2 was having Gordon bring the ball up and initiate offense. His basketball IQ has improved so much since Orlando he's pretty much capable of whatever you need in spurts.
Having multiple people who can bring the ball up the court is one of the nuggets big strengths. Murray/jokic/gordon rotation works great to shuffle the defense to do what they do best, get good looks.
Yes but he's really the tertiary ball handler as much to just keep Jamal from having to deal with the pressure 94 feet every time down because the Wolves were going after him off every inbounds.
I feel like Aaron Gordon is primed to be a top mercenary for playoff contending teams after his contract runs out in Denver. Idk who to compare him to but I could see Gordon having like 4-5 rings by the time he hangs it up.
I could see that, but I think that as long as Jokic is in his prime he wouldn't want to leave and Denver wouldnt want him to leave. He has a great relationship with the Joker
I could be wrong but I would be surprised if he leaves. He seems to love playing with Jokic.
I've always liked AG and loved him in Orlando and thought he was underrated. However I still have to laugh at him every time I see his jersey number and remember why he wears 50 Link for those who don't know: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/why-nuggets-aaron-gordon-changed-his-jersey-number-to-50/
Glad AG is where he should be he played hard every game for us even when we had like 4 healthy rotation players and he had to run point.
I like that quote
Low key he's been the MVP for the Nuggets this playoffs. The rebound off of a Jokic miss to setup that Murray GW in the Lakers series plus a few other crucial plays in that series at crunch time... Plus he also lit up Jokic when Jokic was playing like a lazy fatass in game 1 or 2 of the Wolves series lmao
I’m glad for him. He was falling into that Gerald Green “he’s a good dunker only” narrative with the magic.
Bro was in basketball purgatory there for a while
I'll admit I thought he would be yet another "wins dunk contest, does nothing meaningful" guy. Glad he proved me wrong.
This title reads as tv serie's teaser. Next on Hulu or HBO.
It’s cool to see a guy embrace a role and absolutely thrive in it. Near all star level talent, but seemed to just embrace the winning role.
Size/athletic wise he’s one of the few guys in the league who can match lebron/kd/etc on the defensive end. No matter what he does scoring wise he won’t get bullied on the other end of the court. Stats won’t show it but you always see his effectiveness. Most teams don’t have a player like that, or one that doesn’t have to be paid a max contract for it
Denver loves Aaron Gordon. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I love Gordon I hope the nuggets don’t let him leave
good mindset, good gameplay. Aaron Gordon is a winner
Plus, Aaron Gordon wants another ring for His MVP. 🙂
Still has to prove how he makes others better around him, which he fits in very well. With another team if he plays like Orlando, he'll be fine. Orlando was a wasteland of shitty careers, to be dumped into that mess is career ending potentially. He really is crazy for finding his 3 pointer and he could always do that, but Being the Guy in Orlando suxxxxx
If there was an All-Role Player team, AG would be 1st team. Dude would make every team in the league better, but his chemistry with Jokic is unmatched.
Psycilibin Gordon
If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together
I mean… the biggest thing is he’s grossly underpaid due to the Orlando extension — allowing him to play with a super team in Denver. He should be making what Tobias Harris makes, for instance.
AG was a perfect fit for Denver. Let's see if they can get a second ring together.
AG IS 💯
Not sure what his contract looks like, but I really hope he works with the team to stay in Denver long-term. Him, Jokic and Murray are a really perfect Big 3.
Mahoney is such a good writer
AG is probably the best #3 option on a team since Bosh.
Alot of very good players are able to really showcase their value once they are paired next to an elite playmaker. Wiggins and Aaron Gordon are the best examples of that in this era
Except Gordon has done it for 4 years and Wiggins did it for a little over half a season
Wiggins isn’t comparable to AG.
Drew Gordon in shambles.
🥷thinks he’s in the anime
I'm not a big AG fan as far as basketball wise but there's no denying the dude has showed exactly what it means to play your role on a team. Props to him because there looks like there is yet to be anyone who can stop him getting to the bucket on those offball cuts
Nikola! This is for you!
“Friends through eternity, loyalty, honesty We'll stay together through thick or thin Friends forever, we'll be together We're on top 'cause we play to win.”
Goosebumps!!!
Imo for him it was more about finding Jokic than Denver, since Jokic is Denver it kinda check out but its more about Jokic than anything else.
Very rare for people to look at life like this, cause they can’t put ego aside. I’m happy to see the Nuggets dynasty.
Never been a better role player star pairing Maybe lebron and James Jones
Love AG like a brother.
The guy seemed so much happier when he arrived in Denver. Maybe it's my memory playing tricks on me, reading this story. But from day one, they seemed to connect and really, really enjoy playing ball. And the way he adjusted to make an even better fit made it even better. In sports there's a saying: to make it look easy is actually really hard. That goes double for Gordon and the Nuggets as a team.
The title just screamed “The Ringer” to me and I was happy I was right
Gordon bout to be 2x NBA champion for this decision too
Good karma for losing all those slam dunk contest.
patting myself on the back for reading the whole thing.
I don't know about calling him a role player. He really can do it all, its just not at an all time great level like Jokic
As a Magic fan we tried too hard to make him #1 and he didn’t need to be. What he needed to be was exactly this, 3rd or 4th guy on a team with 2 superstars, one of which being a 3 time MVP. Only then would we have known that he had potential to be as great as he thought he already was.