Tag: Aaron Gordon

Aaron Gordon has very high praise for Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama

After the San Antonio Spurs’ loss to the Denver Nuggets, Aaron Gordon showed love to Victor Wembanyama.

The San Antonio Spurs suffered a tough loss to the defending champions on Tuesday night, as the Denver Nuggets picked up a tightly-contested 110-105 victory. It was a back-and-forth game. The Nuggets led by double digits in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs battled all the way back to take a small lead of their own before eventually falling.

Nikola Jokic put up a monstrous statline of 42 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists, but he wasn’t the only elite big man on the floor. Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was also amazing, as he did his best to counteract the greatness of Jokic.

After the game, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon showed some serious love to Wembanyama. (H/t ESPN)

“He’s going to be really, really, really, really, really, really good,” Gordon said.

Wembanyama finished the game with 23 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and nine blocks while shooting 9-of-29 from the field and 2-of-11 from beyond the three-point line.

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Aaron Gordon’s putback dunk inspired the reaction of the year from the Nuggets’ bench

DeAndre Jordan is all of us.

The Denver Nuggets are the reigning NBA champions, and Aaron Gordon’s fourth-quarter putback dunk on Thursday night reminded the Boston Celtics again in case they forgot.

The Celtics are not having fun right now. On Tuesday, they suffered a puzzling loss to Dean Wade and the Cleveland Cavaliers. On Thursday, they unraveled again despite a dazzling performance from Jaylen Brown. Boston’s play was so gut-wrenching that fans questioned if Jayson Tatum could be an MVP candidate and show up when the team needed it the most. The Nuggets eventually steamrolled the Celtics, and during their meltdown, Aaron Gordon wouldn’t miss a chance to remind Boston the Nuggets are the reigning champs.

Late in the fourth quarter, Nikola Jokic spun off Kristaps Porzingis, driving to the basket but couldn’t finish. That’s when Aaron Gordon seemed to say, “I got this!” and ferociously slammed the ball through the net. The best part of the whole unexpected sequence was Denver’s bench. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Part of feature image courtesy of TNT.

NBA fans loved Aaron Gordon’s callback joke after the 2024 dunk contest’s bizarre judging

Even dunk contest legend Aaron Gordon seemed disappointed on Saturday night.

In the history of the NBA Dunk Contest, Aaron Gordon stands out as one of the all-time premier performers. He’s never technically won the event — a controversial result against Zach LaVine in 2016 notwithstanding — but Gordon’s past performances are renowned for bringing flair and creativity to the stage. Even now, he remains one of the game’s premier dunkers for the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

That’s what might make Gordon’s comments about Saturday night’s dunk contest so fascinating.

The Nuggets forward took to Twitter and rattled off a few thoughts about everyone’s performance. In the end, he made a joke about how he’d somehow come in second (again) following Mac McClung’s repeat victory performance. This, of course, came after consternation over weird judging that seemed to favor the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown:

Gordon still stands as one of the more memorable performers in dunk contest history. At this rate, given some of the controversy and disappointment hovering over the event, bringing Gordon back into the fold would be a very welcome development. Whether he’ll be up to the task after getting robbed in the past is a different story.

Aaron Gordon, NBA Twitter react to Slam Dunk Contest: ‘I probably could’ve got second’

Mac McClung secured his second consecutive NBA Dunk Contest title on Saturday night, but fans were disappointed with the event, missing the excitement of past contests such as the 2016 showdown between Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine. Despite this, …

Mac McClung secured his second consecutive NBA Dunk Contest title on Saturday night, but fans were disappointed with the event, missing the excitement of past contests such as the 2016 showdown between Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine. Despite this, fans did appreciate the LED court.

Here’s how NBA Twitter and players like Gordon and Joel Embiid reacted to the Dunk Contest:

Aaron Gordon had an amazing alley-oop that was against the rules but it counted anyway

This was CLEARLY a basket interference.

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon is liable to throw down some of the most exciting dunks you will ever see during an NBA game.

Gordon, who was presented with his first championship ring before the game against the Lakers on Tuesday night, had a beautiful alley-oop after catching a pass from Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. It was an immediate highlight that should make Denver fans excited for the upcoming season.

Anyone can watch the slam below and come away blown away by Gordon’s remarkable vertical pop and top-tier athleticism. It is one of his best traits on the court.

There is, however, one pretty big problem with this possession. According to the NBA’s rulebook, this basket shouldn’t have counted:

“A Player Shall Not: Touch the ball or the basket ring when the ball is sitting or rolling on the ring and using the basket ring as its lower base or hang on the rim while the ball is passing through.”

While it is always a bummer to see an awesome highlight get called back, this was clearly a violation of the rules that still somehow counted.

However, despite the fact the NBA announced it would begin using Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology to help rule on basket-interference reviews, this one wasn’t called.

It is only the first game of the season, though, so referees are still clearly getting adjusted to the new year of basketball as well.

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Ranking the NBA’s 10 best star trios (now including Dame, Giannis and Middleton)

Can anyone compete with the defending champs?

You need a lot of star power on your roster in order to win a championship in the NBA and several teams just added significant talent.

As the offseason ended, the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard while the Celtics added Jrue Holiday. Earlier this offseason, meanwhile, the Suns added Bradley Beal to a lineup that already had Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. But how do these revamped contenders stack up with the league’s top three-man lineups?

Many publications have ranked the best duos in the NBA — which you can read here, here, here or here. But we wanted to look at the best star trios in the league right now. Here is what we concluded:

Note: Net rating is how many points per 100 possession each team has outscored opponents when these three players are on the court at the same time.

Video shows Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon living their best life together in Serbia

“We’re the two best friends anyone could have,” Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon, probably.

Smack dab in the middle of the NBA summer, the defending champion Denver Nuggets have earned the right to chill out and sit back for a little while. Before the Nuggets begin their title defense in earnest in a few months, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon decided to hang out together in the reigning Finals MVP’s native Serbia.

Jokic has, of course, developed a reputation for loving his horses and horse racing. So it should be no surprise he took one of his best Nuggets pals to the tracks in an adorable video about great pals shared by Denver.

You can tell the two really enjoy each other’s company — especially Jokic if he’s sharing his horse hobby with Gordon.

Man, I can’t help but shake that smile on Jokic’s face as Gordon gets acclimated to the race. It’s obvious he really appreciated his friend visiting him and hanging out. Even the best and most reserved player in the league shows some vulnerability now and then.

Sixers rival watch: Aaron Gordon, Nuggets beat Heat again in Game 4

Aaron Gordon and the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat again in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

While the Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at home, two of their rivals are battling it out in the NBA Finals. The Denver Nuggets remained in South Florida on Friday looking for the 3-1 stranglehold in this series against the Miami Heat.

The 8-seeded Heat continued to battle as they have all postseason, but the Nuggets proved to be too much. Aaron Gordon gave Denver a huge lift with 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists as he used his size and strength against this smaller Heat team in a 108-95 win. Nikola Jokic added 23 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists while Jamal Murray added 15 and 11 assists. Bruce Brown had 21 big points off the bench as well.

The Nuggets are now one win away from their first title in franchise history.

For Miami, former Sixers star Jimmy Butler had 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Miami shooters Max Strus and Gabe Vincent struggled as they shot a combined 0-for-7 from deep.

The series now shifts to the Mile High City on Monday where the Nuggets will be looking to earn the title and close the series out.

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Boston’s Marcus Smart falls in redraft of NBA’s 2014 class

‘Marcus Smart truly is one of the best guard defenders in the NBA,’ writes HoopsHype.

The Boston Celtics would have taken a different player than veteran point guard Marcus Smart if the counterfactual past imagined by a redraft of the NBA’s 2014 class that was put together by Hoops Hype’s Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon was non-fiction.

Had the draft order in this alternate reality remained the same, Boston would have taken forward Aaron Gordon with the sixth overall pick controlled by the Celtics. The Flower Mound native would have fallen to the seventh pick of the 2014 NBA draft.

“The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, even as questionable as that award might have been, Marcus Smart truly is one of the best guard defenders in the NBA,” writes Hoops Hype.

Hoops Hype notes Smart is “an absolute pest on that end of the floor” who “also provides some solid playmaking for the Celtics” as well.

Fairly, they note “his shooting is still very inconsistent,” though we think this is not as true as it used to be in terms of volume if not quality.

They have the Texan floor general ranked just ahead of Clint Capela, but at least for the Celtics, believe Smart made (and would make) more sense than a Gordon pickup would have been, with Smart the more impactful player.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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NBA All-Star Game 2023: The 8 biggest snubs after reserves unveiling

Rookie Wire took a look at some of the biggest snubs from the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.

The NBA on Thursday unveiled the seven reserve players from each conference to complete the rosters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James led all players in fan voting to represent the Western Conference as a starter. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was the lead vote-getter in the Eastern Conference. The two players will serve as captains and select their teams right before the start of the All-Star Game for the first time.

Joining James as the starters from the Western Conference are Nikola Jokic (Denver), Zion Williamson (New Orleans), Stephen Curry (Golden State) and Luka Doncic (Dallas). From the Eastern Conference, the other starters are Kevin Durant (Brooklyn), Jayson Tatum (Boston), Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn) and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland).

NBA All-Star Game: The 45 rookies to make the annual showcase game

The seven reserves in each conference were voted on by the 30 head coaches in the NBA. Each selected two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players from any position, but were not permitted to choose players from their team.

The 14 reserve players that will join the 10 starters:

Eastern Conference Western Conference
Joel Embiid, 76ers Ja Morant, Grizzlies
DeMar DeRozan, Bulls Domantas Sabonis, Kings
Jaylen Brown, Celtics Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Bam Adebayo, Heat Paul George, Clippers
Jrue Holiday, Bucks Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
Julius Randle, Knicks Lauri Markkanen, Jazz
Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies

With the rosters set, Rookie Wire took a look at some of the biggest snubs from the announcement of the reserves. It should be stated that some of these players could eventually make it as replacement players for those All-Stars who may be injured.

Note: Players are listed in no particular order.