Aaron Gordon

Aaron Gordon

Gordon with the Magic in 2014
No. 00 – Orlando Magic
Position Small forward / Power forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1995-09-16) September 16, 1995
San Jose, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Archbishop Mitty
(San Jose, California)
College Arizona (2013–2014)
NBA draft 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Orlando Magic
Playing career 2014–present
Career history
2014–present Orlando Magic
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA World U19 Championship
2013 Czech Republic National team

Aaron Addison Gordon (born September 16, 1995)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the University of Arizona.

High school career

Gordon attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California and started on the varsity basketball team for four years, winning two Division II basketball championships in his sophomore and junior seasons. He led Mitty to its third straight state title game in his senior year, but his team lost in the inaugural Open Division final.

Freshman year

As a freshman in 2009–10, Gordon started in 28 of 41 games and averaged 11.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He also competed on the school’s track and field team as a thrower and played summer basketball for the Oakland Soldiers.

Sophomore year

As a sophomore in 2010–11, Gordon helped his team win Mitty's first state title in basketball. His team also captured the WCAL regular season and playoff crowns, CCS Division II title and Nor-Cal championship. They finished with a 32–2 record and closed the season on a 20–0 winning streak. He started all 34 games and averaged 16.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. He scored 17 points and hauled in a state championship record 21 rebounds in the 2011 title game.

Junior year

As a junior in 2011–12, Gordon averaged 22.9 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.[2] In the state basketball tournament, he averaged 27.0 points per game before finding out he had been playing with mononucleosis. He was chosen as the Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year. The last junior to be Mr. Basketball in California was Tyson Chandler in 2000, and before him, Jason Kidd in 1991.[2]

Senior year

Gordon completing an Alley oop from Aaron Harrison at the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

As a senior in 2012–13, Gordon averaged 21.6 points, a school-record 15.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game in leading Archbishop Mitty to a 28–6 record and a runner-up finish in the CIF Open Division.[3]

Gordon committed to the University of Arizona on April 2, 2013, announcing his decision in a press conference before the 2013 McDonald's All-American Game.[4] After a 24-point, 8-rebound performance leading the West to a 110–99 victory, Gordon was named the game's MVP.[5]

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Aaron Gordon
F		 San Jose, CA Archbishop Mitty High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr 2, 2013 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #4   Rivals: #3  ESPN: #4
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

On February 13, 2014, Gordon was named one of the 30 finalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year.[6] He was named to the All-Pac-12 first team,[7] as well as earning Pac-12 Freshman Player of the Year and Pac-12 All-Freshman team honors.

On April 15, 2014, Gordon declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.[8]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 Arizona 38 38 31.2 .495 .356 .422 8.0 2.0 1.0 .9 12.4

Professional career

Orlando Magic (2014–present)

On June 26, 2014, Gordon was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic.[9] On July 2, he signed with the Magic and joined them for the 2014 NBA Summer League.[10] After appearing in the first 11 games of the 2014–15 season, Gordon was ruled out indefinitely on November 16 after he fractured a bone in his left foot in the Magic's loss to the Washington Wizards the night before.[11] He returned to action on January 18, 2015 against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing 32 games.[12] On April 4, he recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 97–90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.[13][14]

In July 2015, Gordon re-joined the Magic for the 2015 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 21.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks in three games.[15] On November 4, 2015, he scored a career-high 19 points in a loss to the Houston Rockets.[16] On January 31, 2016, he tied his career high of 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 119–114 win over the Boston Celtics.[17] He went on to record 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds the following night against the San Antonio Spurs.[18] During the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend, Gordon was the runner-up to Zach LaVine in the Slam Dunk Contest. Their battle through two tie-breakers in the final round drew comparisons to the showdown between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in 1988. Gordon utilised Stuff the Magic Dragon, his team's 6½-ft tall mascot, in his dunks; his final dunk involved him jumping over Stuff while passing the ball under both legs.[19] On February 25, he had another 19-point outing in a 130–114 loss to the Golden State Warriors.[20] Three days later, he set a new career high with 22 points in a 130–116 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[21] On April 13, in the Magic's season finale, Gordon tied his career high of 22 points in a 117–103 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.[22]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Orlando 47 8 17.0 .447 .271 .721 3.6 .7 .4 .5 5.2
2015–16 Orlando 78 37 23.9 .473 .296 .668 6.5 1.6 .8 .7 9.2
Career 125 45 21.3 .466 .289 .681 5.4 1.3 .6 .6 7.7

National team career

Gordon led Team USA to the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship gold medal with team-highs of 17.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. He went on to earn MVP honors while leading the United States to a gold medal at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague where he averaged team highs of 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in addition to shooting 61.2 percent from the field. He was also named to the 2011–12 USA Developmental National Team and participated in the 2010 USA Basketball Developmental National Team mini-camp.[3]

Personal life

Gordon is the son of former San Diego State basketball star Ed Gordon.[23] Gordon's great-great grandfather, a Native American Osage Indian, was seven feet tall.[24] Gordon's older brother, Drew, is also a professional basketball player. His older sister, Elise, played collegiately for the Harvard women's basketball team from 2010 to 2014. As an eight-year-old, Gordon qualified to compete in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Junior Olympics, but chose instead to play in a basketball tournament.[25]

Awards and honors

High school
Gordon was MVP of the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game.
College

References

  1. ↑ Aaron Addison Gordon (United States of America)
  2. 1 2 Mr. Basketball 2012: Aaron Gordon
  3. 1 2 Aaron Gordon Bio
  4. ↑ Telep, Dave (April 2, 2013). "Aaron Gordon commits to Arizona". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Aaron Gordon earns MVP at McDonald's All-America game". SI.com. April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ "2013–14 Men's Naismith Trophy Midseason 30". NaismithAwards.com. February 13, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ "2013–14 Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Honors". Pac-12.com. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Gordon, Johnson declare for NBA Draft". NBA.com. April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  9. ↑ Denton, John (June 26, 2014). "Magic Draft Gordon at No. 4; Trade for Payton". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Magic Sign Gordon and Payton". NBA.com (Press release). Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 2, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Denton, John (November 16, 2014). "Gordon Out Indefinitely After Fracturing Bone in Foot". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Hot-shooting helps Thunder blow past Magic, 127–99". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Harris, Vucevic lead Magic past Bucks, 97–90". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 4, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  14. ↑ Denton, John (April 5, 2015). "Aaron Gordon Looks Like Man on a Mission to Finish Rookie Season". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ Gordon, Hezonja boosted the Magic's optimism at summer league
  16. ↑ Postgame Report: Magic vs. Rockets (11/4/15)
  17. ↑ Postgame Report: Magic vs. Celtics (1/31/16)
  18. ↑ Magic's Aaron Gordon: Career-high in rebounds versus Spurs
  19. ↑ "Zach LaVine wins slam dunk contest in battle with Aaron Gordon". ESPN.com. February 14, 2016. Archived from the original on February 14, 2016.
  20. ↑ Curry has 51, hits 3-pointer in record 128th straight game
  21. ↑ Big Magic start dooms 76ers to eighth straight loss, 130–116
  22. ↑ Hornets beat Magic 117–103, will face Miami in 1st round
  23. ↑ Competitive Gordon Family Excels on Court
  24. ↑ Magic's new kid sounds ready to grow up
  25. ↑ Aaron Gordon OK with attention

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