The Nuggets have locked up their core four.
Aaron Gordon is signing a four-year, $133 million extension that will keep him under contract in Denver through the 2028-29 season if he so chooses, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post. ESPN’s Shams Charania originally reported the news.
Gordon, 29, had a player option looming in his current contract that would have given him the choice to become a free agent during the 2025 offseason. Instead, the power forward’s new extension will go into effect then, and he will have a new player option for the 2028-29 season and trade kicker. His salary and cap hit for the upcoming 2024-25 season will still be $22.8 million.
With Jamal Murray’s max extension also taking effect next year, the Nuggets have an estimated $163 committed in 2025-26 salary between four players: Gordon, Murray, Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. In total, 13 players are tentatively under contract for that season, but two contracts include player options (Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric) and three others include team options (Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther).
Denver acquired Gordon in a blockbuster trade with Orlando during the 2020-21 season, sending Gary Harris, RJ Hampton and a 2025 first-round draft pick to the Magic. Gordon transitioned out of his previous role as a lead scoring option, learning to complement center Nikola Jokic in a frontcourt partnership that became synonymous with the Nuggets’ success. During their 2023 playoff run, Gordon guarded a gauntlet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Jimmy Butler en route to the first championship in franchise history.
In 3 ½ seasons and 241 regular-season games for Denver, Gordon has averaged 14.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He has dunked the ball 512 times as a Nugget, according to Basketball Reference, accounting for 22.3% of his field goal attempts with the team. He thrives in the dunker spot, especially out of a pick-and-roll set between Jamal Murray and Jokic that leaves defenses vulnerable to alley-oops when the back line has to step up to neutralize Jokic’s efficient floater.
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But Gordon’s finest moment — so far — was not a result of his team’s surgical offensive precision, but a spontaneous display of thrilling, singular athleticism. It was Christmas Day 2022, with 24 seconds remaining in an overtime classic against the Phoenix Suns. Gordon sprinted with the ball coast-to-coast after a Denver defensive stop and launched himself toward the rim from about 10 feet away, posterizing Landry Shamet with a game-clinching slam that sent Ball Arena into a state of holiday catharsis.
Gordon will be wearing a new jersey number this season, No. 32, in honor of his brother, Drew, who died in a car crash in May. Gordon previously wore No. 50.
“I really love this organization,” Gordon said when asked about upcoming contract negotiations on Sept. 26, the day before he was eligible to extend. “I love the players on this team. I love the coaching staff. So I hope we get it done. It seems like it’s moving forward in the right direction. So I’m excited. I’m excited hopefully to be extended and to stay with this organization.”